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Justice and the Interstates: The Racist Truth about Urban Highways
When the U.S. interstate system was constructed, spurred by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, many highways were purposefully routed through Black, Brown, and poor communities. These neighborhoods were destroyed, isolated from the rest of the city, or left to deteriorate over time.
Edited by Ryan Reft, Amanda Phillips de Lucas, and Rebecca Retzlaff, Justice and the Interstates examines the toll that the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System has taken on vulnerable communities over the past seven decades, details efforts to restore these often- segregated communities, and makes recommendations for moving forward. It opens up new areas for historical inquiry, while also calling on engineers, urban planners, transportation professionals, and policymakers to account for the legacies of their practices.
The chapters, written by diverse experts and thought leaders, look at different topics related to justice and the highway system, Justice and the Interstates provides a concise but in-depth examination of the damages wrought by highway construction on the nation’s communities of color. Community advocates, transportation planners, engineers, historians, and policymakers will find a way forward to both address this history and reconcile it with current practices.
Edited by Ryan Reft, Amanda Phillips de Lucas, and Rebecca Retzlaff, Justice and the Interstates examines the toll that the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System has taken on vulnerable communities over the past seven decades, details efforts to restore these often- segregated communities, and makes recommendations for moving forward. It opens up new areas for historical inquiry, while also calling on engineers, urban planners, transportation professionals, and policymakers to account for the legacies of their practices.
The chapters, written by diverse experts and thought leaders, look at different topics related to justice and the highway system, Justice and the Interstates provides a concise but in-depth examination of the damages wrought by highway construction on the nation’s communities of color. Community advocates, transportation planners, engineers, historians, and policymakers will find a way forward to both address this history and reconcile it with current practices.
254 pages, Paperback
Published January 31, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 5, 2024
Very informative about the racist past of urban highway design
February 20, 2023
When I started this book I was expecting to hear the same arguments over and over. Sure the interstates had to relocate some folks but think of the all the benefits. I was mistaken. Throughout the collection of essays/research pieces I found new and compelling issues I had never considered. The pieces described generic problems, historical impacts, lessons learned, and positive suggestions for the way forward.
While the book may not be "entertaining" it is worth the effort to read from cover to cover.
While the book may not be "entertaining" it is worth the effort to read from cover to cover.
September 26, 2024
A brilliant compilation of essays that expose nuanced histories & realities of an inequitable transportation system and a future of uncertain hope. Three lessons learned that have stuck in my mind:
1. The struggle in Baltimore and the variance between constrained and transgressive language employed by largely white and Black activists, respectively, and their real outcomes and consequences.
2. The use of historical preservation and park laws in planning as a way to justify and wield inequity.
3. St. Paul’s Rondo community and the bold visioning and action that can set a model for the rest of the country.
1. The struggle in Baltimore and the variance between constrained and transgressive language employed by largely white and Black activists, respectively, and their real outcomes and consequences.
2. The use of historical preservation and park laws in planning as a way to justify and wield inequity.
3. St. Paul’s Rondo community and the bold visioning and action that can set a model for the rest of the country.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews