Penn City and Regional Planning professor Erick Guerra discussed his new book on the economic and societal impacts of American highways in a question and answer session with Penn Today.
The book, titled "Overbuilt," touches on how the highway network has "ballooned beyond its usefulness." In the conversation, Guerra also discussed larger current problems associated with public transportation.
Discussing the core arguments of his book, Guerra highlighted highway congestion and its impact on "safety, the environment, and economic competitiveness." He added that the methods used to finance and evaluate highways are outdated, causing recurring mistakes.
"This overbuilding leaves Americans way more car-dependent than they might prefer," he said. "I think most of us would like the option to walk safely to the store without getting run over, spend less on gas and insurance, and live in less polluted environments, but we’ve poured so much into roads that we’re past the point of diminishing returns — new widenings often make us worse off when you account for collisions, emissions, and fatalities."
He also emphasized that a more expensive highway network does not make travel safer. He added that the U.S. traffic fatality rate is around 12 to 13 deaths per 100,000 people, as the "arterials" and feeder roads are the most dangerous.
Guerra's solution centers on "fundamentally" changing highway policy.
"We need to make highway expansion and widening a policy of last resort, instead of the automatic default public policy it is now," he said. "We also need to fix how we pay for roads, moving away from a flat gas tax (which disproportionately funds expensive urban highways) toward charging prices that better reflect the marginal cost of the actual trip — driving on a rural residential street shouldn’t equate to a congested downtown one."
While self-driving cars may increase highway capacity, Guerra expressed doubt about the consistent efficacy of technological fixes.
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When asked about the "right amount of highway," Guerra highlighted the importance of balance. He highlighted the "invaluable role" highways play in modern society, but noted that the goal is to "strike a balance" between "negative space" and "positive space."
The Penn Institute for Urban Research is hosting a book talk on "Overbuilt" with Guerra on Nov. 10.
