{"id":27130,"date":"2023-02-03t22:15:57","date_gmt":"2023-02-03t22:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.planetforward.com\/2023\/02\/03\/essay-interstate-81-and-the-inner-loop-viaducts-for-environmental-racism\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28t15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28t15:53:39","slug":"interstate-81-environmental-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/interstate-81-environmental-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"essay | interstate 81 and the inner loop: viaducts for environmental racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

interstate 81 is mostly a route for trade in the united states. the interstate runs from dandridge, tennessee to just north of watertown, new york at the canadian border. it connects harrisburg, the capital of pennsylvania, to other rust-belt cities like binghamton and syracuse, both in new york. <\/p>\n

however, many drivers along this expressway aren\u2019t aware of its dark history: because the stretch of i-81 in syracuse is a viaduct, or raised above ground level, its construction sliced through and greatly disrupted a historically close-knit african american community<\/a>. this was syracuse\u2019s southside neighborhood, also known as the 15th ward. in the 1950s, the city saw this community as a burden. as a result, many families were displaced in order to construct i-81.<\/p>\n

\"1-81,
 i-81 overlooks wilson park on november 13, 2022. this park, a popular basketball location, has courts, a playground, and a swimming pool. on the other side of the bridge, public housing is also extremely close to i-81. (jenna magioncalda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the highway has not only divided syracuse, but it may have also caused health problems. according to a report<\/a> by the new york civil liberties union, neighborhoods near highways have notoriously significantly higher rates of asthma than other areas. a school, a park, as well as public housing neighborhoods with run-down sidewalks border i-81, which experiences high volumes of traffic. in addition to this potential health concern, living in these areas is also uncomfortably loud. under one bridge near dr. king elementary school, a volume of 85 decibels was measured using the decibel x decibel reader app. this is as loud as an alarm clock<\/a>. to hear an example of the audio quality under this bridge, give a listen: