the not-so-good history of The highway system
Additional Facts
- American heads of architecture, including Robert Moses (who was basically New York's master-builder), urged cities to succumb to the interstate's construction.
- Other states jumped on the bandwagon: Florida wanted to “eradicate” all African-Americans from Overtown, a historically Black community in Miami.
- Construction of the interstate routed straight through low-income neighborhoods without any public hearings.
- Detroit’s Black-majority neighborhoods were bulldozed.
- In Alabama, the highway director was a member of the KKK. He ignored to opt for empty plots of land and instead bulldozed straight through Black neighborhoods.
- Led to poverty and de facto segregation.
Modern Effects
The CDC reports that more people of color live by the interstate than their white counterparts. This has led to significant adverse health effects for those communities, who are impacted by air pollution and traffic accidents at a greater rate.