The inside story of how Portland, Oregon, tried to address decades of racist transit policies

Black residents in Oregon’s largest county, Multnomah County, are almost twice as likely as their white counterparts to die as a result of a traffic accident, according to a 2021 report. The report goes on to explicitly link these results to both the discriminatory policies and the history of systemic racism in the city of Portland and the state of Oregon. The exclusion of Black people was written into the state constitution when Oregon was founded in 1859. It was not repealed until 1926, and racist language stayed in the constitution until 2002.

And, like most major metropolitan regions in the United States, Portland was subject to major segregationist tactics as it developed, including highway expansion and redlining. This racist legacy continues to affect Black and Brown communities in how the city is organized and who can travel through it easily and safely.

“We must remember that because of our history, [even a simple question]—like whether to repair or rebuild infrastructure at the end of its useful life—becomes a discussion about racial equity,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America. Transportation planners and engineers need to understand and acknowledge the legacy of racism and address the harms that continue to be caused when we don’t lead with a racial equity framework.

Read the full excerpt at Fast Company.