Summary of Biking While Black: How Planning Contributes to Unjust Policing
In this blog post, I summarize the TREC seminar presentation
Biking
While Black: How Planning Contributes to Unjust Policing by Jesus M.
Barajas from UC Davis on October 9, 2020. The research was initiated by
Equiticity, a mobility justice non-profit located in Chicago.
The high-profile killings of unarmed black men and women at
the hands of police this year (George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and
many more) in addition to those before has contributed to a heightened
awareness of police violence towards communities of color and the systems that
reinforce their marginalization. The bicycle planning field is not exempt from
a wholesale reevaluation of its policy frameworks and priorities to be
anti-racist. As a white person who needs to increase their knowledge about
mobility justice and racism in transportation, I found this presentation a good
place to start.
Here’s the breakdown of the points:
- Cyclist fatalities have increased 38% over the last decade
- Black and Latino cyclists are overrepresented in fatality statistics, in fatalities per mile biked
- Police engagement is a central component of Chicago’s Vision Zero plan, because of their ability to enforce traffic laws. However, mobility justice groups are working to remove this language from the Vision Zero city policy due to the discriminatory way in which enforcement is carried out:
- Illegal behaviors are rational responses to planning deficiencies; bicycle citations reveal faults in the system not the individual. (such as biking on the sidewalk because the road is too dangerous)
- Black cyclists have particular barriers:
- Not feeling safe from crime/personal security
- Inadequate infrastructure
- Racial profiling
- In Chicago, bicycle citations issued twice as often in Black neighborhoods compared to others
- Discretionary stops (like bike ticketing) drive the racial bias in traffic enforcement; traffic injury responses and traffic safety violations do not
- The odds of getting a sidewalk riding ticket are 7 and 15 times higher on collector and arterial streets, which has implications for planning. When these types of streets have bicycle facilities, these odds are cut by 50-80%
- Ticketing data suggests that cycling tickets are nor really associated with safety efforts, likely they are used as a pretense for other infractions
The key takeaway here is that there are clear associations
between infrastructure, disadvantage and policing. We planners are complicit in
perpetuating racial disparities and should be attentive to the intersections of
identity and mobility.
If you’re interested in learning more about mobility justice, I highly recommend the Untokening Project. If you have suggestions for me as well, comment below!
Thanks for sharing this summary, Phillip. I found especially interesting the idea that bicycle citations reveal faults in the system and not the individual. It's an idea that makes a lot of sense. On top of that, the point that bicycle facilities reduces infractions is unsurprising, but it certainly makes clear the need for protected infrastructure in areas where Black and Latinx folk are bicycling. I'll definitely check out the Untokening Project.
ReplyDeletePhillip, thank you for the summary. I can definitely see from my personal experience that the infrastructure deficiencies causing rider's illegal behavior. The investment in infrastructure of communities of color and low income is lacking. While this should be addressed through planning, it would be better if the enforcement could take it into consideration that the purpose of some infractions is to prevent potential danger.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see VZ policing replaced with ambassador-type programs (ideally staffed from within a community) that engage people walking and biking instead of citing them. What a great way to collect data on on infrastructure issues: ask the people who are having to find ways around it! Great summary of a fascinating talk.
ReplyDeleteHi Phil,
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to listen to this seminar for a while, so I appreciate your excellent summary in the meantime. This adds much needed dimension to the discourse surrounding bicycling within the black community. I was struck by this point, "Police engagement is a central component of Chicago’s Vision Zero plan, because of their ability to enforce traffic laws. However, mobility justice groups are working to remove this language from the Vision Zero city policy due to the discriminatory way in which enforcement is carried out." It is a reminder of several things: how important language is, the power of community groups, and of course the consistent physical and psychological violence that the police inflict on the black community.