by Matthew Fleischer, The Los Angeles Times
Highlights
- The construction of freeways was a direct result of Los Angeles’s racist past, creating a city segregated on the basis of race, causing the destruction of black neighborhoods and the elimination of beneficial transportation
- The Red Car transit system provided access to residents throughout the city, creating thriving, diverse neighborhoods, but disappeared once cars became more accessible
- A mass influx of African-Americas moving west from the South resulted in more Jim Crow-based laws in LA
- The 1944 Federal-Aid Highway Act allocated funds for nearly 2,000 miles of freeways in California, which were then used to break apart unsegregated and black communities
- Predominately white areas such as Beverly Hills and South Pasadena were able to protest and fight any plans for freeways in their neighborhoods
- Car-dependent suburbs developed away from the city and accessible public transit as a means to keep black Angelenos from moving in
- These freeways serve as physical barriers from white neighborhoods to black neighborhoods and these disparities are still seen today
The Climate Center’s Climate-Safe California campaign calls for clean mobility solutions, including a phase-out of all gas-powered vehicles to eliminate air pollution in our most vulnerable communities.
Read More: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-06-24/bulldoze-la-freeways-racism-monument
Nina Turner
Energy Programs and Communications CoordinatorJanina is a graduate of the Energy Management and Design program at Sonoma State University with experience in non-profits that specialize in sustainability and volunteerism.
