Many planners and geographers know the story of Jane Jacobs and her efforts to prevent planned urban expressways in NYC and Toronto. The more recent story of Rochester, NY (USA) and the removal of its downtown expressway is less well known. This talk will focus on the experience of Rochester, presented by a practicing planner involved in the project. Beginning with early concepts in the late 1930s, to construction in the 1960s, to the first plans for its removal in the 1990s, to implementation in the 2010s, we will explore Rochester’s efforts to repair its urban fabric from the damage wrought by mid 20^th century urban planning.

Jason grew up on the rural American side of the Upstate New York/Southern Ontario 'borderlands' near Buffalo and discovered the magic and freedom of walkable places at age 12 from his “townie” friends. A graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo with a B.A. in geography and the University of Toronto with an M.S. in planning and urban design, Jason has spent his career as a planner and urbanist in Rochester and the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Currently he is a planner for the Town of Brighton, NY and lives in the City of Rochester with his partner Matt and dog Rocky. 
 

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Zoom Webinar. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.