If the people centered-transportation movement can become a champion for racial and economic equity, it will play a direct an important counter-point to 20th century infrastructure decisions.
A major feature in Slate last month, the past and present of auto-centric infrastructure pockmarks nearly all U.S. cities with the brunt of the externalized consequences being shouldered by communities of color. Unfortunately, Buffalo is no exception.
As described in the One Region Forward Fair Housing Equity Assessment, from Interstate 190 to NYS Route 33 and NYS Route 198, in green lighting these highways:
“Public officials leveraged massive public works projects aimed to facilitate the rise of the automobile and expedite suburban commuting to additional end: the construction of highways through urban neighborhoods served to displace and disconnect emerging bases of African-American political power. At the same time these interventions undercut economic opportunities and activity within neighborhoods by allowing traffic (and customers) to quickly bypass city neighborhoods for new auto- centric commercial development. The legacy of these roadways has further created communities of environmental justice concerns where low-income and minority populations are now subjected to high volumes of car and truck emissions.
Nowhere in Buffalo was the intrusion of highways on neighborhoods more apparent than the construction of Route 33. Also known as the [Kensington] Expressway, this highway was named after the grand Olmsted-designed Humboldt Parkway that was torn out for its construction. Humboldt Parkway was the spine of emerging black middle- class neighborhood of Hamlin Park and its link to the great public spaces of The Parade (now MLK Park) and Delaware Park. However, the local (white) power elite welcomed the destruction as a sign of progress. In fact, as New York State footed the lion’s share of the bill for the project, Buffalo’s then-mayor Steven Pankow reportedly proclaimed, “Never has Buffalo been offered so much for so little”.“
The Restore Our Community Coalition was formed in 2010 with a vision for restoring the grand parkway that was once the central defining and unifying element of this neighborhood. They are building a strong cohort of organizational and individual stakeholders to rally momentum for beginning to right the wrong done to this neighborhood. More information about this important work and more back story about the Parkway and ways to get involved can be found on their website.
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