Limited mobility and the restrictions of Public transportation In Atlanta
Introduction
- My presentation was about, The construction of the Atlanta Marta system that has enabled segregation and the refusal of freedom for Black Americans. In addition, I focused on Policymakers on urban development planning boards who have constructed a multitude of ways by which they deter the movement of Black travelers, and used Marta as a key component of restricted movement in the Atlanta Metropolitan area.
- My focus on this topic is influenced by my geographical imagination essay topic of “stuck in place” and how limited movement out of low-income areas restricts the opportunities for the Black community and upward mobility in society. I was also influenced by week twos reading by Neely and Samura (2011) “Social Geographies of Race” and week three’s reading Before Busing: Boston’s Long Movement for Civil Rights and the Legacy of Jim Crow in the “Cradle of Liberty”, by Zebulon Vance Miletsky.
thesis statement
In my presentation, I employed various sources regarding urban development in the Atlanta metropolitan area to argue that Public transportation in the city of Atlanta has been strategically used to limit the mobility of the Black community. I provided a detailed description of the creation of Marta and its role in modern urban development planning. In addition, I focused on a recurring theme throughout the semester: the production of space to situate my topic within the context of this class.
Key takeaways
- My presentation was broken down into three points. First I gave a comprehensive overview of Marta, its original intentions, and planning. Secondly, I focused on how the Atlanta public transportation system has reinforced and sustained segregation. Thirdly I looked at the several attempts by Atlanta policymakers to constrict movement from black spaces using Marta as the method to execute these barriers.
- From my research, I learned that the history of public transportation in the city of Atlanta and policymakers have systemically utilized Marta to contain Black people in predominantly Black spaces.
Significance
- My project serves as a connector of various conversations regarding issues with public transportation, in a cohesive and digestible manner. There have been many scholars focusing on the topic of transportation in Atlanta, but my project contributes both the perspective of an Atlanta resident coupled with copious research from various scholars.
- My project contributes to the literature on race, space, and identity we read in class by providing a Look at the relationship between Public transportation, and population placement in Atlanta is imperative in understanding the construction of Black spaces In Atlanta. My project brings into question Atlanta’s role as the “Black Mecca” by specifically looking at the role of transportation and how it creates space within the Atlanta Metropolitan area. I think the sources I used in my project would be a valuable addition to this course, and they would couple well with the themes explored in week 2 and week 3.
Bibliography
- Sources you explored, but didn’t use
- Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi, et al. “Diversity or Segregation? A Multi-Decadal Spatial Analysis of Demographics of Atlanta Neighborhoods.” Spatial Demography, vol. 5, no. 2, 2017, pp. 123–144., doi:10.1007/s40980-017-0034-z.
- Bullard, Robert D. The Black Metropolis in the Twenty-First Century: Race, Power, and Politics of Place. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Bullard, Robert D, et al. Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta. Island Press, 2000.
- Gutman, Marta, and Matthew Gordon Lasner. “Segregation by Design: Race, Architecture, and the Enclosure of the Atlanta Apartment.” Journal of Urban History, vol. 46, no. 6, 2020, pp. 1222–1260., doi:10.1177/0096144217704316.
- Ihlanfeldt, Keith R. Housing Segregation and the Wages and Commutes of Urban Blacks: The Case of Atlanta Fast-Food Restaurant Workers. College of Business Administration, Georgia State University, 1992. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Pavel, M. Paloma. Breakthrough Communities: Sustainability and Justice in the Next American Metropolis. MIT Press, 2009. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Sjoquist, David L, editor. The Atlanta Paradox. Russell Sage Foundation, 2000. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Williams, John E. “Transcending Barriers: Race, Mobility, and Transportation Planning in Postwar Atlanta, 1944-1975.” ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University, 2015.
- Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi, et al. “Diversity or Segregation? A Multi-Decadal Spatial Analysis of Demographics of Atlanta Neighborhoods.” Spatial Demography, vol. 5, no. 2, 2017, pp. 123–144., doi:10.1007/s40980-017-0034-z.
- Sources you referred to in your presentation:
- Basmajian, Carlton. “Projecting Sprawl? The Atlanta Regional Commission and the 1975 Regional Development Plan of Metropolitan Atlanta.” Journal of Planning History, vol. 9, no. 2, 2010, pp. 95–121.
- Hobson, Maurice J. “The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta.” Building Black Atlanta and the Dialectics of the Black Mecca, University of North Carolina Press, 2017.
- Keating, Larry. Atlanta: Race, Class, and Urban Expansion. Temple University Press, 2010. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Lands, LeeAnn. The Culture of Property: Race, Class, and Housing Landscapes in Atlanta, 1880-1950. University of Georgia Press, 2009. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 18 Mar. 2021.
- Neely, Brooke, and Michelle Samura. “Social Geographies of Race: Connecting Race and Space.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 34, no. 11, 2011, pp. 1933–1952., doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.559262.
- Sources from our class that are relevant to your project
- Miletsky, Zebulon Vance. “Before Busing: Boston’s Long Movement for Civil Rights and the Legacy of Jim Crow in the ‘Cradle of Liberty.’” Journal of Urban History, vol. 43, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 204–217.
- Neely, Brooke, and Michelle Samura. “Social Geographies of Race: Connecting Race and Space.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 34, no. 11, 2011, pp. 1933–1952., doi:10.1080/01419870.2011.559262.
