In the prior episode on infrastructure, we discussed how the interstate highway system spawned a migration of businesses to the suburbs, where rent and property were cheaper. This left many lower-income workers in central cities without access to employment or the means to get there.
This was especially true for lower-income workers in communities of color who saw their communities bulldozed to make room for new roads while racist housing policies prevented them from relocating to where the jobs were.
Collin Yarbrough discovered this while doing research for a paper on urban design and planning in his hometown of Dallas. This paper later became the book Paved a Way: Infrastructure, Policy, and Racism, documenting how urban planning in Dallas either disregarded or blatantly targeted black communities and ultimately led to their degradation.
In this episode of YDHTY, Collin and I discuss his new book and the larger subject of how part of racism is people operating unknowingly in systems that disadvantage another. You can listen to the full episode via the player below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.