Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) is a civil rights policy organization with a primary mission to help connect advocates with social scientists working on race and poverty issues, and to promote a research-based advocacy strategy on structural inequality issues. PRRAC sponsors social science research, provides technical assistance and convenes advocates and researchers around particular race and poverty issues.

PRRAC hired Make Communities as part of its interest in creating a body of knowledge regarding best practices in Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) implementation efforts — in particular, interagency cooperation in the spirit of the 2015 joint letter issued by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Education and Department of Transportation.  Acknowledging the detrimental impacts of concentrated poverty and lingering segregation, and the interwoven nature of transportation, housing and education in providing opportunity to every American, their letter encourages local education, transportation and housing leaders to work cooperatively to advance opportunity through the lens of AFFH.

In this context, Deconstructing Segregation in Syracuse? The fate of I-81 and the future of one of New York State’s highest poverty communities analyzes the ongoing efforts in Syracuse, New York, to convert the I-81 interstate highway to a contextually appropriate roadway through the city’s downtown that meets contemporary standards and needs.

Deconstructing Segregation in Syracuse? provides an overview of:

• the current state of the I-81 conversion initiative
• various perspectives of the work to date on the project’s (and stakeholders’) efforts to impact racial equity
• aspirations or ideas from participants of ways that the project can contribute to AFFH goals
• recommendations for further PRRAC engagement/ study/ or participation

Download the full report here or read more about the report on StreetBlog USA.