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.