In cities across the U.S. monuments to racists and slaveholders are coming down by legislative decree and activist muscle. As these monuments come under scrutiny after far too long, it is past time, too, to consider the less explicit monuments to racism in our cities. In New York, our highways carry a legacy of segregation and risk exposure, and perpetuate that legacy every day.
Can a Highway Be Racist?
We most often think of a highway as a route for people in cars to travel between A and B. But a highway also acts as a barrier. Run a highway between two neighborhoods and suddenly, permeable space becomes a wall. In cities across America, highways act as physical segregators. This is not a coincidence. Rather, segregation was an explicit goal as highway construction ramped up across the U.S. in the 1930s and 40s.