Dec 21, 2024 Story by: Editor
President Biden has unveiled a transformative $2 trillion infrastructure plan that seeks to repair America’s crumbling infrastructure while tackling systemic racism embedded in transportation and urban planning policies. A key aspect of this proposal is a $20 billion initiative designed to “reconnect neighborhoods cut off by historic investments,” according to the White House. Furthermore, the plan aims to allocate “40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities.”
Historical Context: Racial Inequities in Infrastructure
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 marked the beginning of the Interstate Highway System, but it came at a significant cost to communities of color. Highways were often deliberately routed through Black and brown neighborhoods, displacing families and businesses. In many cases, homes were taken through eminent domain, erasing entire communities.
Deborah Archer, a law professor at New York University and president of the ACLU’s national board, highlights the lasting impact of these policies. “It left a deep psychological scar on neighborhoods that lost homes, churches, and schools,” Archer explains. In her Iowa Law Review article, she delves into how transportation policies have historically shaped Black communities.
Challenges in Correcting Historical Wrongs
Archer notes that implementing Biden’s initiative will require more than financial investment. “What is not clear is whether and how that money will be distributed in a way that will address the racial inequalities that are built into our transportation system and our infrastructure,” she tells NPR. She emphasizes the need for cultural shifts within government agencies to prevent affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods from continuing to benefit at the expense of communities of color.
Intentional Displacement and Resistance
The deliberate targeting of Black and brown communities often coincided with courts striking down tools of racial segregation, such as zoning laws. Highways were sometimes constructed along former racial boundaries to maintain segregation.
Resistance to these projects varied. Successful efforts in Greenwich Village, New York, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans provide examples of communities pushing back. However, Archer points out, “The most successful efforts to stop highways were not those that focused on racial justice but rather those centered on environmental justice and protecting parks.”
The Vision for Change
Biden’s plan envisions a future where infrastructure development no longer perpetuates racial disparities. Archer hopes that, in five to ten years, race will no longer dictate which communities reap the benefits of transportation systems and which bear the burdens.
“Our transportation systems have led to racial disparities and discrimination,” Archer says. “I would hope that… race would not be a way to explain who gets the benefits and who gets the burdens.”
Insights from Additional Sources
A video titled “The Disturbing History of America’s Highways“ further sheds light on the devastating effects of past infrastructure projects. It recounts how vibrant communities were razed in cities like Miami, where the Overtown neighborhood—a bustling hub for Black residents—was destroyed by highway construction. The video also emphasizes the environmental toll of such projects and their long-term implications for economic mobility in marginalized communities.
Biden’s plan is a step toward addressing these injustices, but the success of the initiative will depend on its execution and the commitment of federal, state, and local governments to prioritize equity. Source: npr
