“Blight was a code word used to identify Black, working-class communities,” said Eric Avila, a UCLA historian and author of The Folklore of the Freeway: Race and Revolt in the Modernist City. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 promised 41,000 miles of asphalt. And when it became time to finalize route plans, Avila said, “race strongly influenced routing decisions.”
Transportation
Eric Avila in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Interstate highways were touted as modern marvels. Racial injustice was part of the plan.”
Contributors
“Blight was a code word used to identify Black, working-class communities,” said Eric Avila, a UCLA historian and author of The Folklore of the Freeway: Race and Revolt in the Modernist City. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 promised 41,000 miles of asphalt. And when it became time to finalize route plans, Avila said, “race…
