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9781509560103

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“Williams is a scholarly guide: literary, artistic and cinematic references abound. But his strength is his aversion to histrionics. […] he resists easy partisan positions, and his resolute critical eye makes him something of a gadfly. This is why The Expressway World, which could have been arid or marginal, has a zing to it.’’ The Telegraph ""With its Ballardian title, this book concentrates on one of the most contested legacies of modernism: the urban expressway, cutting through cities, splitting neighbourhoods, polluting with noise and particulates and killing both social and financial value. Williams looks at how we got here and what might be done. There is plenty of optimism here, with the various ways in which neglected real estate around freeways can be repurposed, and how it might actually present an opportunity.” Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times, Best Summer Books of 2025: Art, Architecture and Design “This elegantly written and beautifully researched book is the definitive guide to an omnipresent feature of modernity: the urban expressway. Always calm, cool-eyed and realistic, Williams is open to the expressway’s attractions as well as its abominations. He raises important questions about how to make the world we have made for ourselves more liveable and sustainable.” Joe Moran, author of On Roads: A Hidden History “A terrific book! The expressway helped to recreate the ways we move around and see the world. Richard Williams invites us to see our expressway world in fresh and surprising ways.” Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class “This elegantly written and beautifully researched book is the definitive guide to an omnipresent feature of modernity: the urban expressway. Always calm, cool-eyed and realistic, Williams is open to the expressway’s attractions as well as its abominations. He raises important questions about how to make the world we have made for ourselves more liveable and sustainable.”   Joe Moran, author of On Roads: A Hidden History       “A terrific book! The expressway helped to recreate the ways we move around and see the world. Richard Williams invites us to see our expressway world in fresh and surprising ways.”   Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

“Williams is a scholarly guide: literary, artistic and cinematic references abound. But his strength is his aversion to histrionics. […] he resists easy partisan positions, and his resolute critical eye makes him something of a gadfly. This is why The Expressway World, which could have been arid or marginal, has a zing to it.’’ The Telegraph

“Williams is a scholarly guide: literary, artistic and cinematic references abound. But his strength is his aversion to histrionics. […] he resists easy partisan positions, and his resolute critical eye makes him something of a gadfly. This is why The Expressway World, which could have been arid or marginal, has a zing to it.’’ The Telegraph ""With its Ballardian title, this book concentrates on one of the most contested legacies of modernism: the urban expressway, cutting through cities, splitting neighbourhoods, polluting with noise and particulates and killing both social and financial value. Williams looks at how we got here and what might be done. There is plenty of optimism here, with the various ways in which neglected real estate around freeways can be repurposed, and how it might actually present an opportunity.” Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times, Best Summer Books of 2025: Art, Architecture and Design

Author Information

Richard J. Williams is Professor of Contemporary Visual Culture at the University of Edinburgh.

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