America Walks is proud to release the Communities Over Highways Organizing Playbook to help community members build successful campaigns for safer, more connected communities from the ground up.
This toolkit is intended for community organizers seeking to protect their communities from highway expansion, or to reconnect communities divided by highways. It contains valuable information and ideas for those just getting started and those already in the fight.
The Communities Over Highways Organizing Playbook is informed by the growing movement and experience of freeway fighters from around the country. America Walks would like to give a special thanks to all who offered their insights for the playbook, through their participation in a Communities Over Highways Summit or through the Freeway Fighters Network.
A Highway Harms Your Community. Now What?
Countless communities across the United States are split in half by highways. Highways become barriers when built through communities, dividing and polluting cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Many people become freeway fighters when they decide their community is better off without a big road. Maybe a plan to expand or extend a highway spurs them to action. Maybe an existing highway has reached the end of its life and there’s the opportunity to reexamine whether it is needed at all.
What’s In the Playbook?
The playbook provides a starting point for understanding the general bureaucratic and legal process that guide highway building and the organizing strategies that can shape freeway fights. It will introduce the reader to general concepts and offer case studies from freeway fights in both urban and rural settings
This toolkit will help you make a case presenting a positive vision that motivates fellow community members and decision makers to engage.
Check it Out
The Communities Over Highways Organizing Playbook is available to download here.
America Walks is also the steward of the Freeway Fighters Network, which exists to exchange information and support freeway fighters across the country. You can join the network here.
