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Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity
Transportation Racism: New Routes to Equity dispels a major myth that conceals enduring divisions in American life. While many people view the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the end of government-sponsored discrimination in the United States, Transportation Racism confirms the obvious and ignored truth: equality in transportation has been established in name only. Case by case, Transportation Racism shows how—a half-century after the Montgomery bus boycotts—chronic inequality in public transportation is firmly and nationally entrenched.
Coast to coast, equal access to healthy, reliable, and practical transportation eludes many people, the majority of them poor people and people of color. The effects of this injustice are broad and deep. Access to transportation, public and private, determines the physical and social mobility necessary for admission to larger social, economic, and civic worlds. For millions of people, exclusion from transportation networks means drastically compromised life choices. Their jeopardized health and limited economic opportunities are then compounded by the day-to-day indignities and feelings of frustration and isolation resulting from publicly funded segregation.
The authors illustrate the insidious contributions of transportation policy and urban planning to the establishment and enforcement of racial and economic inequality. Written in recognition of activists like Ella Baker and Rosa Parks, Transportation Racism lays the groundwork for future transit rights organizers.
Transportation Racism asserts that staying the current course will further polarize communities on the basis of class and color, and the powerful evidence marshaled by the authors in this anthology demands that cities and states revisit their public transportation agendas.
Robert Bullard’s Dumping in Dixie and Confronting Environmental Racism were seminal works in the establishment of Environmental Justice as a movement and an academic field.
Coast to coast, equal access to healthy, reliable, and practical transportation eludes many people, the majority of them poor people and people of color. The effects of this injustice are broad and deep. Access to transportation, public and private, determines the physical and social mobility necessary for admission to larger social, economic, and civic worlds. For millions of people, exclusion from transportation networks means drastically compromised life choices. Their jeopardized health and limited economic opportunities are then compounded by the day-to-day indignities and feelings of frustration and isolation resulting from publicly funded segregation.
The authors illustrate the insidious contributions of transportation policy and urban planning to the establishment and enforcement of racial and economic inequality. Written in recognition of activists like Ella Baker and Rosa Parks, Transportation Racism lays the groundwork for future transit rights organizers.
Transportation Racism asserts that staying the current course will further polarize communities on the basis of class and color, and the powerful evidence marshaled by the authors in this anthology demands that cities and states revisit their public transportation agendas.
Robert Bullard’s Dumping in Dixie and Confronting Environmental Racism were seminal works in the establishment of Environmental Justice as a movement and an academic field.
245 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 5, 2015
incredible book documenting the grassroots struggle in several US cities for transportation equity. inspiring ideas for any transportation activist.
especially noteworthy for all of yinz in pittsburgh, as there is an excellent article by brian nogrady on the history of the MLK busway, the south hills "T" line, and the frustrating choices that "our" Port Authority has made over the years. Also discussed in the article is the ensuing effects, both on the urban planning of the place we call home, and on the health effects that followed due to these choices.
i have a copy and would let you borrow it, but morgan hasn't given it back yet.
especially noteworthy for all of yinz in pittsburgh, as there is an excellent article by brian nogrady on the history of the MLK busway, the south hills "T" line, and the frustrating choices that "our" Port Authority has made over the years. Also discussed in the article is the ensuing effects, both on the urban planning of the place we call home, and on the health effects that followed due to these choices.
i have a copy and would let you borrow it, but morgan hasn't given it back yet.
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September 25, 2010".....Transportation Racism confirms the obvious and ignored truth: equality in transportation has been established in name only. Case by case, Transportation Racism shows how-a half-century after the Montgomery bus boycotts-chronic inequality in public transportation is firmly and nationally entrenched....."
Very interesting ;really good reading!
Very interesting ;really good reading!
March 10, 2024
A underlooked staple in transportation equity literature—moreso given the fact that it’s expensive and out of print, and Bullard’s EJRC site can only be retrieved in the Wayback Machine.
The book outlines key case studies of coalition building, advocate tensions, and the state of transportation equity in a wide range of cities, with stories that still ring true today (rip the Purple Line mention in the Baltimore chapter!!). Ultimately, the multiple chapter authors outline the case for connecting social justice with transportation planning practice and environmental advocacy (SF example), given the history of civil rights and EJ that have made real advances in transportation decision making, but not enough. Now, this narrative has largely quieted down, and needs and new generation of activists to champion the cause. Inspiring! I also thought the case studies were very clearly written :)
The book outlines key case studies of coalition building, advocate tensions, and the state of transportation equity in a wide range of cities, with stories that still ring true today (rip the Purple Line mention in the Baltimore chapter!!). Ultimately, the multiple chapter authors outline the case for connecting social justice with transportation planning practice and environmental advocacy (SF example), given the history of civil rights and EJ that have made real advances in transportation decision making, but not enough. Now, this narrative has largely quieted down, and needs and new generation of activists to champion the cause. Inspiring! I also thought the case studies were very clearly written :)
May 11, 2019
These essays are mostly ground-level case studies, so will be of interest to anyone who is interested in building a grassroots coalition to tack an issue. Unfortunately they're also mostly written as works in progress, so with a couple decades of perspective the coalitions don't always seem as effective as this book portrays them. Of course, reversing racism and auto-dependence in the USA is a gargantuan task, so it's not necessary the fault of the activists who author most of the essays, but it does make it a bit harder to read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews