Funding source: Caltrans

Contract number: 65A0674

Funding amount: $199,414

Performance period: 1/1/2021 to 12/31/2021

California’s freeways have come under increasing scrutiny for their disproportionately adverse  impacts on low-income populations and populations of color. This study uses empirical research to not only understand but also quantify and describe in detail the historical impacts of freeways on communities of color in four California cities and areas: Pasadena, Pacoima, Sacramento, and San José. In these neighborhoods, freeways displaced many residents, significantly harmed those that remained, and left communities divided and depleted. The four cases differ in notable ways, but they share a disproportionate impact of freeway construction on communities of color. In Pasadena and Pacoima, decision-makers chose routes that displaced a greater share of households of color than proposed alternatives.