Lost in the Transit Desert: Race, Transit Access, and Suburban Form

197 Pages·2018·4.58 MB·English

by  Diane Jones Allen

Lost in the Transit Desert
Increased redevelopment, the dismantling of public housing, and increasing
housing costs are forcing a shift in migration of lower income and transit
dependent populations to the suburbs. These suburbs are often missing
basic transportation, and strategies to address this are lacking. This absence
of public transit creates barriers to viable employment and accessibility to
cultural networks, and plays a role in increasing social inequality.
This book investigates how housing and transport policy have played their
role in creating these “Transit Deserts,” and what impact race has upon those
likely to be affected. Diane Jones Allen uses research from New Orleans,
Baltimore, and Chicago to explore the forces at work in these situations, as
well as proposing potential solutions. Mapping, interviews, photographs,
and narratives all come together to highlight the inequities and challenges
in Transit Deserts, where a lack of access can make all journeys, such as to
jobs, stores, or relatives, much more difficult. Alternatives to public transit
abound, from traditional methods such as biking and carpooling to more
culturally specific tactics, and are examined comprehensively.
This is valuable reading for students and researchers interested in transport
planning, urban planning, city infrastructure, and transport geography.
Diane Jones Allen is currently Principal Landscape Architect with
DesignJones LLC, New Orleans, USA. Her research and practice is guided
by environmental justice, and sustainability in African-American landscapes.
She was previously a tenured Professor in Landscape Architecture at the
School of Architecture and Planning, Morgan State University, Baltimore,
USA.
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design
Series editor: Peter Ache
Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Routledge Research in Planning and Urban Design is a series of academic
monographs for scholars working in these disciplines and the overlaps
between them. Building on Routledge’s history of academic rigour and cutting-
edge research, the series contributes to the rapidly expanding literature in all
areas of planning and urban design.
https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Research-in-Planning-and-Urban-
Design/book-series/RRPUD
Urban Planning’s Philosophical Entanglements
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Richard S. Bolan
Lost in the Transit Desert
Race, Transit Access and Suburban Form
Diane Jones Allen
University Spatial Development and Urban Transformation in China
Cui Liu
The Virtual and the Real in Planning and Urban Design
Perspectives, Practices and Applications
Claudia Yamu, Alenka Poplin, Oswald Devisch and Gert de Roo
Unplugging the City
The Urban Phenomenon and Its Sociotechnical Controversies
Fábio Duarte and Rodrigo Firmino
Heritage-led Urban Regeneration in China
Jing Xie, Tim Heath
Tokyo Roji
The Diversity and Versatility of Alleys in a City in Transition
Heide Imai
Lost in the Transit Desert
Race, Transit Access, and
Suburban Form
Diane Jones Allen
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Diane Jones Allen
The right of Diane Jones Allen to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Allen, Diane Jones, author.
Title: Lost in the transit desert : race, transit access, and suburban
form / Diane Jones Allen.
Description: First Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2017. |
Series: Routledge research in planning and urban design |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017004348| ISBN 9781138954243 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315667027 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sociology, Urban--United States. | Local transit—
United States. | United States—Race relations.
Classification: LCC HT123 .A45 2017 | DDC 307.7/60973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004348
ISBN: 978-1-138-95424-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-66702-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
This work is dedicated to Ellis Jones Washington

Contents
List of figures and table ix
Foreword by Naomi Doerner xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
1 Theorizing the origin of and defining Transit Deserts 9
2 Transit Desert case studies 45
3 Forecasting for the desert 107
4 Solutions for traveling in the desert 123
Conclusion 151
Bibliography 165
Index 176

Figures and table
Figures
1 TheGreen Book 11
2 Lafitte Housing Project Claiborne Avenue, 2004 28
3 Transit Desert Neighborhood 41
4 Voucher Distribution and Race in 2010 50
5 St. Bernard Project Before and During Hurricane Katrina 51
6 St. Bernard Area Means of Transportation to Work in 2000 53
7 St. Bernard Area Population and Race in 2000 and 2010 54
8 St. Bernard Area Peak Hour Waiting Time in 2005 54
9 Pines Village Median Gross Rent in 2000 55
10 Pines Village 2000 Census Population Density 56
11 Pines Village Median Household Income in 2000 56
12 Pines Village Median Household Income in 2010 57
13 Pines Village Means of Transportation to Work in 2010 58
14 Pines Village Peak Hour Waiting Time in 2015 58
15 Ms. White in her Dining Room in New Orleans East, 2016 60
16 Ms. Daigle’s Complex 65
17 Baltimore City Census Tracts 73
18 Revitalization Area Transit Lines and Stops 76
19 Map of Locations of Relocated Households 77
20 Relocation Area Transit Lines and Stops 80
21 Mr. Davis and acquaintance Mr. Jones across from
Lexington Market 84
22 Transit Desert Chicago, Halsted Street 88
23 Transit Deserts in Cook County Transit Future 99
24 CTA System 2015 100
25 Waiting on Green Line 104
26 Transit Ranking Graph 116