Matt Driscoll: Can urban design be racist? Yes, according to local leaders, and here's how to fix it
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.
1/21/2021
Matt Driscoll, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Jan. 21—Asked for an example of how urban design can have unintended racist consequences, Lauren Flemister didn't hesitate.
Just look at light rail projects, she said, and specifically the Tacoma Link extension currently being laid down on Hilltop.
While the multi-million dollar street car project will run through and serve a historically Black neighborhood that has long suffered from neglect and disinvestment, we also know that it's already exacerbating a trend of displacement and gentrification that predates it, Flemister said.