This editorial is part of an ongoing series entitled Big Ideas for a Better Pittsburgh, in which the Editorial Board collects and proposes new ways for Pittsburghers to think about their city, and southwestern Pennsylvania more generally, during a time of transition. We invite you to share your own Big Ideas with us at opinion@post-gazette.com.

Pittsburgh’s urban core has too many highways. They lacerate neighborhoods, artificially separate communities and cut the city off from its riverfronts. Regional leaders should study which of the city’s freeways could be decommissioned or replaced in order to generate new, appealing public spaces optimized for human beings rather than automobiles.

Highway removal sounds radical, if not unimaginable, but cities around the country and the world are

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