A TALE OF TWO CITIES. IN: JUST TRANSPORTATION: DISMANTLING RACE & CLASS BARRIERS TO MOBILITY

This paper describes how America's urban areas have become forgotten places. Too many of our cities and their inhabitants are at risk from poor housing, poverty, economic abandonment, and inadequate transportation. The poor infrastructure conditions in urban areas are a result of a host of factors including the distribution of wealth, patterns of racial and economic discrimination, redlining, housing and real estate practices, location decisions of industry, and different enforcement of land use regulations. This article explores transportation-related disputes in two distinct communities, Washington, D.C. and James City, North Carolina. Although the two communities are worlds apart in terms of their political and economic structure, they have a lot in common. Both communities have taken on government highway construction projects that threaten the health and safety of local residents.