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Racism by Design: The Building of Interstate 81

Jay A. Fernandez ACLU Magazine
The I-81 project, completed in 1968—and Syracuse remains one of the most segregated cities in the country, with the highest concentration of poverty among communities of color, and the highest rates of lead poisoning in children. This was by design.

Mike Davis Could See the Future

Hua Hsu The New Yorker
Mike Davis died this week. Often misread as a “prophet of doom,” the Marxist historian was actually an optimist and a dreamer.

America’s Hidden Fire Kindling - For-Profit Housing

Jarod Facundo The American Prospect
Federally subsidized housing complexes, many of them owned by for-profit investors, fail to enforce basic safety standards. Will the horrific fire this week become a wake-up call?

Why Public Art Is Good for Cities

Marianne Dhenin Yes! Magazine
Studies show that investments in public art can improve street safety, provide tourism and new jobs, and combat social isolation and anxiety. "A city that is vibrant and thriving has art right at the center.”

books

America Was Eager for Chinese Immigrants. What Happened?

Michael Luo The New Yorker
In the gold-rush era, initial ceremonial greetings soon gave way to bigotry and violence as Chinese immigrants were tarred as a “coolie race” and cast as a threat to free white labor. The two books under review tell the story of how and why.

Imagine a New York City Not Dominated by Real Estate

Danny Katch Jacobin
New York’s commercial real estate sector is in crisis, as office workers are increasingly unwilling to come back into a physical office. It’s an opportunity to rethink what a city that serves its residents rather than commercial landlords could be.

books

Reclaiming the Power of Rebellion

Elizabeth Hinton, Derecka Purnell Boston Review
Activist Derecka Purnell interviews historian Elizabeth Hinton about her new book, ‘America on Fire,’ and how the label “riot” discredits Black political demands.

The ‘New Redlining’ Is Deciding Who Lives in Your Neighborhood

Richard D. Kahlenberg New York Times
If you care about social justice, you have to care about zoning. Taking on exclusionary zoning also begins to address two other challenges the Biden administration has identified: the housing affordability crisis and climate change.
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