Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality

by Deborah N. Archer

From an eminent legal scholar and the president of the ACLU, an essential account of how transportation infrastructure—from highways and roads to sidewalks and buses—became a means of protecting segregation and inequality after the fall of Jim Crow.

Our nation’s transportation system is crumbling: highways are collapsing, roads are pockmarked, and commuter trains are unreliable. But as acclaimed scholar and ACLU president Deborah Archer warns in Dividing Lines, before we can think about rebuilding and repairing, we must consider the role race has played in transportation infrastructure, from the early twentieth century and into the present day.

As Archer demonstrates, the success of the Civil Rights movement and the fall of Jim Crow in the 1960s did not mean the end of segregation. The status quo would not be so easily dismantled. With state-sanctioned racism no longer legal, officials across the country—not just in the South—turned to transportation infrastructure to keep Americans divided. A wealthy white neighborhood could no longer be “protected” by racial covenants and segregated shops, but a multilane road, with no pedestrian crossings, could be built along its border to make it difficult for people from a lower-income community to visit. Highways could not be routed through Black neighborhoods based on the race of their residents, but those neighborhoods’ lower property values—a legacy of racial exclusion—could justify their destruction. A new suburb could not be for “whites only,” but planners could refuse to extend sidewalks from Black communities into white ones.

Drawing on a wealth of sources, including interviews with people who now live in the shadow of highways and other major infrastructure projects, Archer presents a sweeping, national account—from Atlanta and Houston to Indianapolis and New York City—of our persistent divisions. With immense authority, she examines the limits of current Civil Rights laws, which can be used against overtly racist officials but are less effective in addressing deeper, more enduring, structural challenges. But Archer remains hopeful, and in the final count describes what a just system would look like and how we can achieve it.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Sociology, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Audiobook

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Josh Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

details the racist infrastructure America's towns and cities were built upon and continues to exist today. It is so incredibly important to understand this stuff.

[Jayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible read, with lots I'll be thinking about. While it shouldn't be surprising how racial oppression permeates everything in U.S. society, even things as seemingly mundane as highways, sidewalks and street names, seeing all the research laid out by Archer is still so jarring. She did such an amazing job showing the lengths to which Black lives and communities were/are disvalued and disinvested in, and how that racism motivated (and, of course still does) both the creation and placement of transportation infrastructure. I liked that all the examples the author provided were cases spread out across the states. The Dayton/Beavercreek RTA issue was especially maddening, but there were also so many other disturbing examples she delved into that made me curious and that I want to look into more.

Highly recommended and crucial reading for everyone.

[Maggie Haberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and well written. If you struggle to make sense of the space around you and why infrastructure in the United States is so massively broken, this book is extremely enlightening. Archer explores both the ways that racism and white supremacy have impacted infrastructure in United States and what possible changes can be made to approach justice. I listened to this as an audio book from the LAPL but may pick up a physical copy so I can go over it again.



If anyone reads my review and knows of a similar book about racialised infrastructure in France please comment and let me know. It is okay if it is in French, I am bilingual.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book efficiently makes the case that government decisions about transportation infrastructure and services shaped, and continue to reinforce, patterns of racial inequality throughout the U.S. It explains its theory and supports it with numerous examples.

Importantly, it points out that once practices like redlining in mortgage lending, race-based exclusions in zoning, and race-based steering in real estate had established patterns of racial sorting by neighborhood, then transportation decisions reinforced those patterns without any of the decision-makers saying anything about race. And they continue to do so today.

[naia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to meet the author during a panel at the Roosevelt House and immediately knew I wanted to buy the book. I got to speak with Archer directly and talk about the difference in ticketing and penalties for those who don't pay for public transit versus those who get car tickets. Not only are tickets more expensive for people who don't pay the fare, but the penalties disproportionately impact public transit users. A $100 fine feels a lot different for someone who isn't able to pay $3 than someone who drives.

Must read for anyone interested in transit, housing, and its racial impacts. I know I will be revisiting this book a lot. Can't even begin to add all my thoughts on the book.

[Juliette Barasch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be perfect material for an undergrad Urban Politics/Studies course (complimentary). The scholarship is immense, but the analysis is ultimately a little thin, and coming primarily from a Legalist perspective (if that's your thing, cool!).

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Ms Archer’s writing style and felt like I flew through this book. It’s only effectively around 200 pages, but it’s densely packed with topics but mostly focuses on road infrastructure, not public transit. There was some good material on buses, but I felt like I leaned so much. Although I’ve never read The Power Broker, this reminded me a lot of what I’m told is discussed in Caro’s book.

Hats off to the author and all of her collaborators for a job well done. 5 stars.

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the contemporary geographic reflections and continuation of Jim Crow.

[Edward ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

an upsetting history that must be righted

[Aurelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so interesting, horrifying, and informative. I will forever think of this book whenever I’m on a highway.

[Marley B · Rating 4 out of 5]

In summary, Archer writes, "the oppression of Black America is the driving force behind the development of the United States". To defend such a bold and broad statement in a clear and effective manner may seem a daunting or even impossible task, but Deborah N Archer does this masterfully -- looking beyond redlining and other infamous Reconstruction-era policies, Archer describes how historically (and to this day) transportation infrastructure policies have contributed to prominent racial inequalities throughout America in a direct, clear, and succint manner (the entire book spans less than 200 pages!).

If I were a teacher, I would love to use selections from this work. While the writing is not complex (in the sense that I could imagine it being taught to a high school level course), it is a bit dense-- the only knock on an otherwise perfect and deeply informative book (not a casual read, but certainly something that could be expected in a course). This only disappoints me because I think the insidious nature of how the nation's transportation system is a material manifestation of the structural racism America has been founded on deserves to be shared with mass audiences, who might not be able to take much away from this text (basically, I wish I could share this with my dad).

That being said, the anecdotes and examples Archer chooses to share and highlight are incredibly effective in supporting her overarching thesis; my favorite passages included discussions of legal framework that makes it difficult to challenge discriminatory city planning --these sections in particular were so clear to me (without a legal background) and inspire me to take a more active role in local politics, where these inequalities can be first perpetuated. Prior to this reading, I'm not sure I have ever taken seriously state and local propositions regarding community planning or transportation; I see now that this is a massive failing for someone who is committed to the act of social justice. As Archer explains, once a physical barrier (ie highway) is constructed, these can be more effective than legal or social barriers enforcing segregation and racial injustice, because they are even more challenging to reform -- if you can imagine how difficult it is to change a racist law, think about how difficult it would be to reroute an already constructed highway/subway system.

Ultimately, Archer concludes: "The interstate highway system did not cause every problem that urban communities face. But its construction compounded discrimination, exclusion, and exploitation, and the boundaries the highways created -- physical, psychological, and economic -- were and remain durable monuments of white supremacy." I am impressed at her ability to defend this claim so thoroughly, and would recommend this book to anyone interested in structural racism beyond a surface-level introduction.

[Dustin Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t often spend the time to review books, but this one had me charged up.

I just finished Dividing Lines by Deborah Archer, president of the ACLU. The book examines how transportation infrastructure has been used to reinforce racial inequality in America, from the destruction of Black neighborhoods to the everyday barriers that limit access to public space.

It raises a question that should give everyone in the transportation profession pause: Why, in the year 2025, does the head of the ACLU need to write a book about how we plan, design, and build roads?

What are we still getting wrong?

Archer makes the case that the Federal-Aid Highway Act should be recognized in the civil rights conversation as a watershed moment right alongside Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education.

She offers a comprehensive account of the transportation industry’s harms, from the well-documented racist highway planning practices of the 1950s and ’60s to the contested sidewalks and public spaces we continue to see today.

The lesson is that these aren’t just mistakes from the past. They’re the intended outcomes of systems that continue to shape our communities.

Archer’s conclusion is especially challenging. Legal protections like NEPA are necessary but they cannot, on their own, fix a system built around inequitable priorities. Progress also depends on the people working within those systems: the engineers, planners, project managers, and public officials who make decisions every day.

Doing the right thing means more than following the rules. It means questioning the assumptions behind them, recognizing when standard practice produces harmful outcomes, and using whatever discretion we have to do better even when it’s easier, safer, or more convenient to default to the status quo.

Simply put, “Just following the process” is not good enough.

For those of us who plan, design, and build transportation infrastructure, that’s a responsibility worth taking seriously.

[Michael Pinard · Rating 5 out of 5]

We tend to think of roads as pathways to get us somewhere. However, in this must-read book, Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality, Deborah Archer, a leading civil rights lawyer, scholar, and law professor, teaches the important and sobering lesson that roads also can, and do, confine people and communities. Through chapters that travel from the twentieth century to the present, Archer details how America’s roadways, highways, sidewalks, crosswalks, overpasses, and public transportation systems are core components of the racial architecture that, historically and presently, has constructed and connected some communities and left other communities decimated and disconnected. Archer demonstrates—with overwhelming evidence—that America’s transportation infrastructure, as with voting, education, and incarceration, has adapted and mutated over time to perpetuate racial segregation and exclusion from economic mobility, as well as exacerbate racial health disparities. Importantly, Archer draws on her rich experiences as an attorney representing individuals and communities suffering from transportation injustice to share stories that bring pain—and the beauty of individuals and communities that have resisted and persisted—from the shadows to the light, as well as offer pathways to transportation justice (and the freedom that follows) that account for the limitations and hostilities of our current times.

[Joan Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ve heard the stories about highways intersecting black communities, but this book informs and demonstrates how this occurred. It informs about federal legislation that systematically led to racial injustice, economic injustice, social injustice, educational injustice, commercial, and industrial injustice, health injustice for people of color and the poor. It highlights the law,, court rulings, and how councils and counties use and interpret the law to further marginalized the poor and people of color and to benefit whites and benefit more wealthy communities . It also highlights the means and ways by which councils and counties reduce or remove affected Neighborhoods from discussions about infrastructural planning and disregard the effects of these plans on peoples livelihood, access to work, access to play, access to packs and the entrenched racism and racial underpinnings of infrastructural plans people it highlights the dog whistles, the metaphorical phrases, such as “ urban renewal,“, faster and cheaper“, “ efficiency“ it also highlights how these this disenfranchisement affects the overall uplifting of the black community.

[Lynnise Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dividing Lines is one of those rare books that changes the way you see the world around you — literally. Deborah Archer masterfully exposes how transportation infrastructure, the highways that cut through neighborhoods, the roads that connect (or disconnect) communities, has long served as a tool of racial division. What I found most powerful was how she traces this pattern not just as history but as an ongoing reality, from Atlanta to New York City, backed by interviews with the people living in the shadow of these decisions every day. Archer writes with both rigor and humanity. As a law professor and ACLU president, she brings serious legal and policy depth to the subject, but this never feels like a textbook. It reads with urgency. She's clear-eyed about the failures of current civil rights law to address structural inequities, yet she doesn't leave you in despair — she maps out what a just system could actually look like and how to get there. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in civil rights, urban planning, or simply understanding why American cities look the way they do. Highly recommend.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of exactly what the title says. I heard Deborah Archer speak on this topic in the ACLU podcast, and I was immediately fascinated and went to pick up her book. I had never thought to think about how the highway system came to be or how that system reinforced racial inequality in America. It's especially vindicating if you're like me and detest driving.

I do think the book could have been enhanced by some visual aides, a timeline of all the mentioned court cases, and even a glossary. There's so much information here that it's difficult to remember every mentioned term and court case, especially if you're new to the topic. I also found it difficult to visualize the numerous descriptions of intersecting highways and how they cut through and destroyed communities. It would've been nice if a map had accompanied these stories, and possibly some before and after photos if they were available.

Overall, though, this was a fascinating look into something I had never been previously aware of.

[Alice Korngold · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary accounting of the role that transportation infrastructure has played in solidifying racial segregation and limiting opportunities for Black Americans. Magnificently researched, with the added value of the author’s on-the-ground experiences with activists in communities seeking to build more just systems. Robust recommendations based on meaningful progress and innovations in a variety of communities. With the added benefit of being beautifully written, which makes it particularly compelling reading. Congratulations Deborah Archer.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Much of the book covers well-trod ground, in particular the abominable and intentional destruction of Black neighborhoods to build interstate highways. But other parts covered less-well-known areas like street names, sidewalks, and public transit. Well written and researched. Could have used many more maps to make its points more efficiently and memorably. Does a better job than many other books at recommending solutions, such as more use of racial-impact statements, although obviously that's not going to be happening much in the near future. Still, it's well done.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archer offers the definitive account here of how transportation infrastructure and especially roads have entrenched segregation and systemic inequality. The book goes deep on history, policy, and law not only to explain how we got here and diagnose the specific problem infrastructure presents, but also to diagram what we should do about it. Writing against a bleak and complex topic, Archer's lucid writing makes the book itself a pleasure to read.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant work that weaves together history, stories, and legal and policy analysis to give a clear and compelling view of how racism, particularly against Black people, has shaped U.S. transportation policies and programs. The harm has impacted many individuals and families for generations. We have to start from equity-centered policies and open up spaces for authentic and meaningful community engagement, and we have to keep trying to make things better, and to be better.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The scope of the harm is daunting."

I spent so much of this book going "How do you even come back from this?" because it just seems hopeless, but the final part addresses how it can possibly be fixed. I know that racism is ingrained into every facet of the USA, but I had NO idea it went this deep. This book is very well researched and important.

[Alexis Hoag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archer has a real gift for making policy, history, and the law come to life in compelling and approachable ways. She peppers each chapter with vibrant anecdotes and snippets of her own family’s personal experiences with structural racism. Beyond diagnosing the problem, Archer provides concrete steps toward solving it. We need more law & policy writing like this for public audiences.

[Mia JR · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book stands as an important reminder and warning that nothing is neutral in a racialized society. The examples used in Archer’s work demonstrate how consequential some of those choices have been, the effects of which may be surprising to some and affirming to others. Readers are called to think about the tangible aspects of how their own communities are designed.

[William Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archer exposes transportation's role in racial segregation, calling for systemic reform to ensure equity and justice. A compelling read on infrastructure and inequality in America.
This book is 10/10 whould recommend
might even read again.

[Kathy F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and informative. You will never drive down a highway or on the interstate again and not think about how these roads basically destroyed neighborhoods and people's lives. A real eye opener.

[Danielle V · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can a book be so depressing and infuriating, while also being just so beautifully written. It is a powerful and informative read.

[Linda G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning book that is well-researched and beautifully written. The contribution this book makes to how we see and understand the environment around us can’t be overstated.

[Ronald G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who cares about understanding how we got here and who wants to help build more just communities.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This explains every city in the United States I’ve been to. It has helped me see things about how cities are set up in this country that I didn’t notice before.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be a more detailed look at the race and transportation issues covered in color of law, but it didn't feel like it was as coherent of an argument