Restorative Justice an Integral Part of Equity
In his introduction to Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity, Robert Bullard discusses the long-term and continued impacts of inequitable and prescriptive transportation planning on communities of color throughout the United States. This “transportation apartheid” is still glaringly persistent, as it is in most—if not all—cities in the country, in Portland (Bullard, 2004). From the destruction of historic Albina for the creation of Interstate 5 (I-5) to the gentrification-led displacement and continued community fragmentation that resulted from the construction of light rail to North Portland, the city’s Black community has faced the brunt of these decisions (Gibson, 2007).
This continued pushout of Black households to the suburbs is rife with equity issues in regard to transportation and infrastructure planning. Given that many of the spaces outside of the inner east portion of Portland lack reliable transportation options (from public transit to bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure) compared to the inner city paired with the fact that Black households are the least likely in the city to have access to a vehicle (Figure 1), current displacement trends point to an exacerbation of these inequities.
Figure 1. Percent of households without a vehicle by race/ethnicity; Portland, OR
Source: IPUMS USA, National Equity Atlas, 2017
In the face of recent efforts to widen I-5 through the Rose Quarter, Albina Vision Trust has spearheaded—with followed support by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Metro Regional President Lynn Peterson, and others—what Bullard describes as an “organizational frontal assault on racist transportation policies and practices” that symbolizes an attempt “to literally dismantle the infrastructure of oppression” (Bullard, 2007). This response resulted from what was considered a lack of interest on the part of ODOT to address those historic injustices resulting from the freeway’s construction (Monahan, 2020).
This points to a larger and continued unwillingness on the part of ODOT and other large transportation agencies to consider larger and generations-lasting equity impacts in its planning efforts, instead focusing on prescriptive solutions to problems of congestion—regardless of having hired an Assistant Director for Social Equity this spring (ODOT, 2020). Despite the knowledge of the effects of centralized, top-down planning approaches on the communities where those efforts were historically focused, these agencies continue to technocratically attempt solutions with no real community buy-in or empowerment.
This propensity—especially among higher levels of planning and policymaking—to eschew any real responsibility to make reparations for historical failings will continue to keep equitable outcomes unachievable within transportation planning. Affected communities—historic, present, and potentially future—must be empowered in the decision-making process. Furthermore, I don’t think that equity is achievable without significant investment in restorative racial and environmental justice within the communities ripped apart, displaced, or destroyed by these historic decisions.
References
Bullard, R. D. (2004). Highway robbery: Transportation racism and new routes to equity. Cambridge, MA: South End.
Gibson, K. J. (2007). Bleeding Albina: A history of community disinvestment, 1940-2000. Transforming Anthropology, 15(1), 3-25. doi:10.1525/tran.2007.15.1.03
Monahan, R. (2020). Racial Justice Group Albina Vision Trust Withdraws Its Support for I-5 Rose Quarter Expansion. Willamette Week. Retrieved from https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2020/06/30/racial-justice-group-albina-vision-trust-now-wont-support-i-5-rose-quarter-project/
National Equity Atlas. (2017). Car access: Portland, OR. Retrieved from https://nationalequityatlas.org/indicators/Car_access#/?breakdown=2
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). (2020). Department hires new assistant director for social equity. ODOT transportation insights. Retrieved from https://www.oregondot.org/department-hires-new-assistant-director-for-social-equity/
Phil Longenecker
ReplyDeleteThanks Shawn for this post. One thing that I find frustrating about this project is its cost (see article below) at over $700 million, possibly even $1B. To me, this is an incredibly high cost for a relatively small piece of the transportation system in Oregon. I also question who this project would most likely benefit: likely not the people displaced by the original construction of I-5.
I wonder what $700 million in affordable housing or direct subsidies for displaced BIPOC communities along transit corridors would do - to me, that seems like a more appropriate use of the money. Perhaps part of the problem is that ODOT's mission is too narrowly focused on transportation. Since its mission is framed in terms of transportation, it lacks the capacity to respond to issues (like I-5 displacement and historical community trauma) that are transportation-derived. In other words, since highways constitute such a large portion of the "language" that ODOT speaks, its like they only know how to respond to past harms with more highway + a Director for Social Equity.
Maybe I'm just being wishful - but it would be great if ODOT could do better here.
https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2020/01/rose-quarter-project-would-likely-exceed-1-billion-if-freeway-caps-are-expanded-reinforced.html#:~:text=The%20project%2C%20first%20estimated%20to,is%20based%20on%202025%20dollars.
Thanks, Shawn. I think you're right on that ODOT doesn't know what equity and restorative justice mean. I've followed the project and though they use those words, they lack any specificity of action. The specifics are always about the number of lanes and the traffic through the area. When they start from that perspective, equity and restorative justice can only be considered, not centered, in the project.
ReplyDeleteHey Shawn, thanks for posting. I like your point about considering generational impacts from transportation projects. Transportation projects aren't only about the instant effects but also about what the situation will look like 10, 20 years down the line. Most transportation projects take a while to be fulfilled, so it is only right to think about future generations. I also agree with you about reparations to the affected communities. All this talk about equity is all lip service without any real action. So far we have only seen an editorial on the local newspaper that was written by the director of their Urban Mobility office, in which they acknowledge their past harms. But if ODOT was truly about equity, then they would have to consider a whole reorganization with equity and restorative justice driving their work.
ReplyDeleteState DOTs are highly programmatic (often frustratingly so), and it definitely hampers their ability to adapt to changing needs and priorities at lower levels. The fact that HQ is often in some small capital city (e.g. Salem) also makes them perpetual outsiders when it comes to urban issues and communities. I don't see a clear path toward it, but the long-term solution is probably to separate state transportation responsibilities and funds between traditional state roles (maintaining major intercity infrastructure, compliance, and serving rural communities) and urban transportation systems. Whether that's devolving power to regional and local urban agencies or creating an "urban" division of DOTs I don't know, but kind of like our electoral system, the outsized weight given to lower-population areas is really damaging to states' urban populations and especially disadvantaged communities.
ReplyDeleteI've also yet to see a coherent description of what restorative justice might look like in transportation. Let me know if you've seen something! I think a clear vision and set of actions would help avoid the (often earnest) lip service rob referred to.
Shawn - thank you for this compelling and eloquent piece. After reading your conclusion about the importance and urgency of a restorative justice element, I just did some quick researching to try to find examples of successful restorative justice in the context of transportation. While I can think of specific ways of implementing restorative justice in other contexts (housing, displacement, etc.) I can't think of other examples of a transportation context (how do you implement it in response to a highway cutting through a community, for example...). I had a hard time finding anything. One article linked me to USDOT's "Ladders of Opportunity" program. The program claims to help give tools to future transportation leaders from historically excluded communities. While this is a wonderful action item toward future equity, it' not restorative justice in a retroactive sense. This concretizes my concern that "restorative justice" is just a buzzword that does not see the adequate follow-through it deserves. Shawn, hopefully you will have lots to teach me about transportation-related restorative justice ideas once you get further into your new position at PBOT :)
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