ECP RESOURCES
Roads Built by Injustice:
The U.S. Interstate Highway System ​
“The legacy of Jim Crow transportation is still with us. Even today, some of our transportation policies and practices destroy stable neighborhoods, isolate and segregate our citizens in deteriorating neighborhoods, and fail to provide access to jobs and economic growth centers.”-Rep John Lewis
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The Project
For the past three years, The Center for Black Health and Equity, in collaboration with the Public Health Law Center, Meharry Medical College School of Global Health, M93 Consulting Group, and Dr. Helen Holton, have endeavored to understand the impacts of inequitable transportation policies on Black communities across the United States.
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This work was made possible by a generous grant provided by the Office of Minority Health to assess policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities by contributing to structural racism.
Signed into law by President Eisenhower, the Federal Highway Act of 1956 authorized the construction of an extensive network of interstate highways, spanning over 41,000 miles. This ambitious project was driven by the need to improve national defense and economic efficiency. Additionally, Eisenhower sought to enhance safety and to support the growing automotive industry by connecting major cities with rural areas.
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A closer examination of the lasting side effects of the Interstate Highway System reveals significant drawbacks that overshadow Eisenhower’s vision. Notably, Black communities across the nation have borne the brunt of the negative consequences associated with these highways and continue to grapple with their impact today. The construction of the Interstate Highway System often led to the displacement of these communities, exacerbating social and economic disparities. This historical context underscores the need for more equitable transportation policies that address the long-standing challenges faced by marginalized communities.
Going Beyond Legal Epidemiology:
Community Engagement
While legal epidemiology employs a transdisciplinary approach that leverages the diverse skills of its participants, it often lacks a crucial element: community engagement. To address this gap, our project focused on connecting with Black community members in three of the five jurisdictions we studied. Beyond analyzing transportation laws and policies, we conducted community listening sessions to understand the real-world impacts of these laws and policies.
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These sessions were critical to our findings, as they provided firsthand accounts of how inequitable transportation policies and infrastructure have affected these communities. By integrating qualitative data from these engagements with our traditional legal epidemiology methods, we were able to underscore the importance of involving those directly impacted by the laws and policies at every step of transportation policymaking.
Learn more about our community engagement efforts in below.
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Atlanta, GA (Sweet Auburn)
Sweet Auburn, the community once called the “richest Negro street in the world,” was home to the largest concentration of Black businesses in the United States. Situated in the heart of Atlanta, Sweet Auburn is the home of prominent civil rights leader, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and several other prominent Black businesses. While the accomplishments of this once-thriving Black community make legacy residents proud, community members also recall when the historical significance of their community was ignored to build the Downtown Connector.
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Houston, TX​
An important aspect of our community engagement efforts is staying apprised of current highway-related community concerns throughout the nation. In our quest to learn about current transportation efforts, we learned about a group of courageous residents who challenged the expansion of Houston’s I-45 highway, citing environmental risk, lack of resident engagement, and potential negative consequences to low-income housing. The CPie collaborative had already identified Houston as a location to include within the legal epi assessment, so taking our efforts a step further seemed appropriate in light of the impending litigation.
Construction of the original I-45 highway, often referred to as the North Houston Freeway commenced in 1956. Like the Downton Connector for residents of Sweet Auburn, I-45 construction has displaced families, neighborhoods, places of worship and businesses throughout Houston. This includes Black and brown communities such as Independent Heights and the Fifth Ward. Thus, the recent efforts by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) appear to be an attempt to repeat the inequitable transportation planning Houstonians are all too familiar with.