What does a Traffic Jam in Atlanta have to do with Segregation?
Atlanta has some of the worst traffic among the major American cities. Daily traffic jams are a direct result of a century-long attempt to separate the races in Atlanta and dozens of other American cities. The development of the Interstate highway system in the 1950s and 1960s exemplified the continued intertwining of infrastructure and racial inequity (Kruse, 2019). Many black communities were destroyed when interstates were built, but they also served to physically separate black and white areas.
Removing Urban Highways Can Improve Neighborhoods Blighted by Decades of Racist Policies
Many metropolitan freeways constructed in the 1950s and 1960s were routed on purpose through neighborhoods inhabited by Black families and other people of color, cutting them off from access to job opportunities. Black neighborhoods in urban areas have been marginalized for decades due to several policies piled on top of one another. Many low-income and minority communities in U.S. cities have seen long-lasting effects from highway building, including much higher levels of fine particulate air pollution (Fitzgerald & Agyeman, 2021). However, cities such as Cincinnati, Chattanooga, Detroit, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, and St. Paul have eliminated or are in the process of eliminating roadways that divide Black neighborhoods.
“Where they (Live, Work and) spray”: Pesticide Exposure, Childhood Asthma and Environmental Justice among Mexican-American Farmworkers
Children of Mexican heritage have a supposedly lower asthma prevalence compared to children of Latino subgroups and other ethnicities. This study blended semi-structured and open-ended interviews with photovoice techniques to learn more about the realities faced by a historically disenfranchised group. The findings of this study give a collective voice to the families who have made their homes in the San Joaquin Valley, a region that is both extremely polluted and agriculturally prosperous (Schwartz et al., 2015). It is unusual to utilize photovoice, a community-based participatory research method, to investigate how pesticides affect children. Based on these results, environmental justice and regional exposure levels should be considered in future asthma studies in children.
Structural Disparities of Urban Traffic in Southern California: Implications for Vehicle-Related Air Pollution Exposure in Minority and High-Poverty Neighborhoods
Comprehending and responding to high traffic density in impoverished neighborhoods requires understanding structural inequities. Emerging atmospheric science and epidemiological research show that harmful vehicle-related pollutants are highly concentrated around major roadways, increasing respiratory illnesses and mortality. This article expands on recent results that California’s low-income and minority children live in high-traffic locations by showing how the urban structure provides a vital framework for examining traffic causes, features, and size, particularly for disadvantaged neighborhoods. Minority and high-poverty neighborhoods have over double the traffic density of the rest of Southern California, which may increase their exposure to vehicle-related pollution (Houston et al., 2004).
Older and more multifamily housing increases interior exposure to external contaminants, particularly motor vehicle exhaust. These patterns affect future planning and policy measures to mitigate the substantial health effects of vehicle-related air pollution.
The Real Cost of Freeways in LA
Highway extensions do not solve the traffic problem and lead to an increase in the number of cars on the roads due to induced demand. In addition to this, they contribute to a rise in environmental pollutants. For instance, 1.2 million people in LA County are exposed to harmful air daily because they live within 1000 feet of the freeway (Vredevoogd et al., 2021). Numerous studies have found a connection between freeways’ pollution and increased probability of asthma, poor pulmonary function, cardiovascular illness, unfavorable birth outcomes, childhood cancer, and premature death. Minority groups, such as people of color, are at risk of being affected by these adverse effects because they live in the neighborhoods where these freeway expansions happen. Therefore, the budget for Metro needs to match the aspirations of California and Los Angeles about the battle against climate change rather than worsen the problem.
References
Fitzgerald, J., & Agyeman, J. (2021). Removing urban highways can improve neighborhoods blighted by decades of racist policies. Route Fifty. Web.
Houston, D., Wu, J., Ong, P., & Winer, A. (2004). Structural disparities of urban traffic in Southern California: Implications for vehicle-related air pollution exposure in minority and high-poverty neighborhoods. Journal of Urban Affairs, 26(5), 565–592. Web.
Kruse, K. M. (2019). What does a Traffic Jam in Atlanta have to do with Segregation? Quite a lot. New York Times. Web.
Schwartz, N. A., von Glascoe, C. A., Torres, V., Ramos, L., & Soria-Delgado, C. (2015). “Where they (live, work and) spray”: Pesticide exposure, childhood asthma and environmental justice among Mexican-American farmworkers. Health & Place, 32, 83–92. Web.
Vredevoogd, J., McMillan, K., & Stegers, T. (2021). The real cost of freeways in LA. [Video].YouTube. Web.