WORD REIMAGINED The wire · 21 filed · live

Source web Tier B

Harbor Freeway (I-110): Segregation by Design

Segregation by Design, 'Harbor Freeway (I-110),' Los Angeles entry. Documents the construction of the Harbor Freeway through Black and Latino neighborhoods in the 1950s and 1960s.

Custody docket

Record
segregation-by-design-harbor-freeway
Type
web
Trust tier
B
Status
published

Sources are graded A (primary) / B (secondary academic) / C (secondary journalism) / D (tertiary or contested). See the manifesto’s Evidence Standard for full criteria.

Documents the Harbor Freeway (I-110) construction through primarily Black and Latino Downtown and South Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s, displacing tens of thousands. Notes that two concurrent urban renewal projects (Chavez Ravine for Dodger Stadium and Bunker Hill redevelopment) displaced an additional 12,000 residents combined. Quotes Mike Davis on the freeway functioning as a physical barrier creating a “moat” separating the financial core from poor immigrant neighborhoods. Notes that restrictive covenants prevented non-white residents from accessing new suburban housing, facilitating white flight.

Provenance

Creator
Segregation by Design
Published
2022
Accessed
2026-07-09

Cited by

Theme custody

No theme record references this source.

On the wire