Law, Engineering, and the American Right-of-Way

This book explores the geography of the everyday roadway and contemplates how regulation and design shape our streets. People may question the hegemony of cars, but reimagining public streets is a major conceptual and technical challenge. Drawing from new mobilities and transport studies, Prytherch addresses how streets are structured by policy standards; what it means to have a right to the street; and how a more just street would lookin both theory and practice. He summarizes key traffic statutes, case laws, and engineering manuals, and interprets these in relation to mobility rights and justice. At its core, the book moves beyond criticism to highlight emerging movements which aim to develop more complete and livable streets for everyone.

Illuminates how technical intricacies of law and engineering exert powerful roles in the spatiality and social life of streets Is situated at the intersection of vibrant theoretical and policy debates Links theories of socio-spatial justice on the street to the practices that design and regulate the roadway

Autorentext
David Prytherch is Professor of Geography at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA. He has served on the Oxford Planning Commission and City Council, focusing on sustainability and intermodal transportation.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Rethinking the Street as Space of Mobility, Rights, and (In)justice.- 3. Legal Geographies of the American Right-of-Way.- 4. The Contested Right to the Right-of-Way.- 5. Engineering the Roadway as Space of Flow.- 6. Controlling the Roadway: Signs, Markings, and Signals.- 7. Streets for Everyone: Intermodal Equity and Complete Streets.- 8. Creating Real Spaces for People: Emerging Standards for Intermodal Design.- 9. The (Block-by-Block) Fight for A More Just American Street.- 10. Towards an Equitable and Livable Street.