Imaging Landscapes, Roads, Race, and Power

Area of Science:

• History of Technology
• Urban Planning
• Sociology of Race and Infrastructure

Background:

• Mid-twentieth century road planning in America involved complex political, social, and professional considerations.
• Historical infrastructure projects, such as interstate highways, have had profound and often detrimental impacts on urban communities, particularly minority neighborhoods.
• There is a growing recognition that federally funded infrastructures were not neutral but embedded specific ideologies, including racist ones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the politics of road planning and design in mid-twentieth century America.
• To examine the interconnected roles of race, class, and professional ideologies in infrastructure development.
• To highlight the systemic nature of race and infrastructure as a critical contemporary issue.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of two contrasting road projects: the "highway to nowhere" in Baltimore and a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.
• Examination of historical documents and policies related to mid-twentieth century road planning.
• Literature review on the relationship between values, technology, and infrastructure.

Main Results:

• Road planning and design decisions were significantly influenced by racial and class biases, as well as professional ideologies.
• Infrastructure projects, particularly interstate highways, often served to segregate and harm inner-city neighborhoods, disproportionately affecting minority populations.
• The study underscores that infrastructure is not a neutral entity but a reflection of societal values and power structures.

Conclusions:

• Understanding the historical entanglement of race and infrastructure is crucial for addressing contemporary urban planning challenges.
• Current federal initiatives to study the deconstruction of divisive interstate highways are informed by these acknowledgments of past harms.
• The analysis of how values shape technology and infrastructure remains a salient and important field of study.