US Urban Space Efficiency Ruined by Development Projects

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Since the 1950s, the US embarked on a massive interstate highway construction project. The problem is that this process twisted urban structures to a near-deformed state, completely tanking spatial efficiency. By the 1970s, over a million Americans had to relocate due to highway construction. Many communities crumbled and declined as highways cut them off. Naturally, residential areas where Black people and other people of color lived were frequently chosen as sites for highways. Furthermore, the massive highway network fundamentally changed urban structures, making them unsuitable for walking. This became a major reason why the US became a country where it's impossible to live without a car. Even now, when you look at US cities from satellite images, many areas feel eerily empty with vast undeveloped lots. It's said that a considerable portion of these are abandoned sites that couldn't be utilized after highway development.