Ryan Reft | An Island Press author

Ryan Reft

Ryan Reft is a historian of the Modern U.S. in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. Since 2017, he has worked as senior co-editor of the Urban History Association’s blog, The Metropole

SPUR Book Talk: Justice and the Interstates

Thursday, May 25, 2023 - 12:30pm PDT
When the U.S. interstate system was constructed, spurred by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, many highways were purposefully routed through poor communities and communities of color, which were destroyed, isolated from the rest of the city, or left to deteriorate. Justice and the Interstates examines the toll taken on these communities over the past seven decades, details efforts to restore these often-segregated communities, and makes recommendations for moving forward.