Highway to Nowhere | BC Urban Review

Highway to Nowhere: The Devastation of Transportation in West Baltimore

by V.V. Janney

View of the expressway that slashes through West Baltimore.

Source: WEAA

The Franklin Mulberry corridor is an expressway built in the 1970s which cut through nearly everything in its path: networks of homes, businesses, and communities in the predominantly Black neighborhood in West Baltimore. The construction of this segment caused higher toxic emissions from car exhaust, resulting in higher asthma rates than in other parts of the city. Thus, the majority Black residents in West Baltimore bear the brunt of environmental and health burdens for an infrastructure project that intentionally cuts these residents off from vital resources to the benefit of the majority white suburbs.

Baltimore’s racial demographics are shaped in Lawernce Brown’s coined terms the “Black Butterfly” and the “white L” (Urban Institute 2023). These names refer to an L-shaped segment that runs through the center of Baltimore containing primarily white residents, while the residents of the “wings” to the left and right are majority Black. Within the Black Butterfly, social, environmental, and economic issues seep into every aspect of life, including the respiratory health of residents. As Baltimore City State Delegate Robbyn Lewis stated in 2011, “Public transportation, good or bad, is the connective tissue between everything else, whether that’s climate change, or employment, economic development, and education—issues we know that also underlie poverty and crime” (Cassie 2023). City officials in the 20th century solidified the social and physical border of segregation in Baltimore with the Highway to Nowhere by decreasing public transportation and increasing car dependency.

Source: Social Explorer

The darker area is the percentage of Black or African American alone. The pin is the Franklin Mulberry Expressway. Similar to when Brown coined the term, Baltimore’s spatial demographics still take the form of the Black Butterfly and West Baltimore is at the heart of it.

In 1960 the City of Baltimore Department of Planning produced the map below of the Franklin-Mulberry segment that would destroy hundreds of homes in the majority Black neighborhood in West Baltimore (Cassie 2023). This plan destroyed a network of public transportation, businesses, and community for the benefit and ease of white suburban residents commuting to and from downtown Baltimore.

1960 rendering of the Franklin Mulberry Expressway.

Source: The Baltimore Magazine

Construction for the segment began in June of 1973 after 1,500 residents were displaced and 971 homes, 62 businesses, and one school were destroyed (Cassie 2023). Community members rose up in response. Movement Against Destruction (MAD), was an organization that fought against the construction of highways including the Franklin-Mulberry Corridor (MAD 2023). MAD published an environmental impact assessment–noting the hazards of this corridor and considering alternatives. Building the expressway would result in over 100 more tons of carbon monoxide a day than not building it along with other highway improvements (MAD 2023). Nevertheless, the courts approved the construction without requiring road planners to complete an environmental impact statement (Dilts 1973).

Additionally, in July 1973, the city had the opportunity to trade “highway funds for transit” (Paull 2023). Despite the needs and environmental benefits of public transportation for the residents in West Baltimore, then mayor Donald Schaefer made the historic decision to continue constructing highways aware of potential risks (Paull 2023). Schaefer was aware of the risks because the courts had previously placed an injunction on one of the segments and challenged the acquisition of more homes. Even with these setbacks Schaefer was determined to finish the expressway (Paull 2023). Eventually, environmental activists succeeded, and construction of the Franklin Mulberry corridor ceased after 1.39 of 2.4 miles of road were constructed (Cassie 2023). Today, this corridor is known as the Highway to Nowhere as it was never completed. But the destruction of the neighborhood and the subsequent reliance on cars was entrenched in West Baltimore. The damage was done.

Ron Cassie, a journalist at the Baltimore Magazine, conducted interviews to explore the first hand experiences of residents. He spoke with Glenn Smith and Laneaue Burch, or “Chubb,” who grew up in the close-knit West Baltimore neighborhood of Rosemont (Cassie 2023). Before the expressway, they told Cassie everything they needed was within a walkable distance or accessible by the transit system. Most residents in West Baltimore in the 1960s and early 70s did not own a car, instead they used street cars and buses (Cassie 2023). The history of environmental pollution started when these networks of walkability and transit were destroyed. City officials neglected environmental concerns and missed an opportunity to implement an eco-friendly mode of transportation—especially because the opportunity to trade funds occurred when the area was already excavated and could have easily been transitioned into a metro line. Therefore, overlooking this opportunity shows the clear disregard for the environment and the residents in West Baltimore.

Glenn Smith at his childhood home on Lauretta Avenue. Source: Isaiah Winters

Taking a closer look at the demographics of the area surrounding the Franklin Mulberry expressway, over 90% of residents are Black and the median household income is considerably lower than other parts of the city at less than $35,000 (Social Explorer 2021). Asthma rates and traffic proximity fall into the 95-100 percentile (EPA 2023). The convergences of these characteristics make West Baltimore particularly vulnerable, especially since these issues are spatially designated. The Highway to Nowhere disrupted a walkable and accessible area, causing people to increase car usage. This increase is correlated with traffic congestion and higher vehicle exhaust which is correlated to higher rates of asthma.

Using the traffic proximity with the national percentiles to demonstrate areas where there is a higher usage of cars and traffic exhaust. This map is zoomed in to show how the area surrounding the Expressway is in the 95-100 percentile. Similar to the race and median income map, traffic proximity falls into the Black Butterfly. Source: EJ screen

Shows the spatial distribution of asthma rates across Baltimore. The outlined area is the area around the expressway which falls into the 95-100 percentile. This means that residents in this area are diagnosed with a much higher rate of asthma than across the city. And again this data is spatially distributed in the Black Butterfly. Source: EJ Screen

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health further states that low income people of color suffer from both longer commute times and higher health risks associated with vehicle emissions (Underferth 2022). These overlapping issues reinforce the fact that residents in West Baltimore face the highest level of “transit-related inequity” (Underferth 2022). Low-income Black residents in West Baltimore experience the impacts of vehicle exhaust and traffic proximity in their bodies and in the physical landscape of their neighborhoods. Smith told Cassie that what happened to his neighborhood was, “taking the heart out of the body. All the extremities just dried up and died” (Stimpson 2022). The devastation of the transportation regime in the 1950s to 1970s pervades every aspect of life for these Baltimore residents. Older residents from West Baltimore still express the sadness and loss of their physical neighborhood, along with aspects of community, accessibility, and walkability.

As described by Robbyn Lewis, transportation binds the inequities these residents experience. West Baltimore suffers from environmental hazards, joblessness, crime, and low property values (Cassie 2023). Another detriment of highway construction is the lack of economic investment that drove these factors higher in West Baltimore. Public transit would have the opposite effect and would help spark economic investment. While suburban residents can easily drive into downtown, West Baltimorians inhale their exhaust. As Lewis further states, “There is just no separating housing and transportation policy from white supremacy and structural racism” (Cassie 2023).

After decades of disenfranchisement, the city is planning on tearing down the Highway to Nowhere (Cassie 2023). In February 2023, the Reconnecting Communities program earned a $2 million grant to begin the work (Mfume 2023). City officials, including Mayor Brandon Scott, are excited about this opportunity to reinvest into the community and undo historic wrongs (Mfume 2023). However, the organization Fight Blight Bmore (FBB), expresses concerns over the city’s ability to equitably carry out the project (WBUR 2022). Having organizations that deeply care for a community, such as FBB, is intrinsic to the success of this project by prioritizing community input. Combining city efforts and hyper local groups will make a meaningful impact on shifting West Baltimore from a sacrifice zone to a thriving and joyous region in the city.

Bibliography

Baltimore receives grant for Highway to Nowhere. Directed by WEAA. Aired February 22, 2023, on WEAA.

Baltimore Wants to Remove Its 'Highway to Nowhere' — but Advocates Remain Skeptical. WBUR. Aired December 20, 2022.

Cassie, Ron. "Road to Ruin." The Baltimore Magazine, February 2023.

Dilts, James D. "Courts Give Go-Ahead for Franklin-Mulberry Corridor." The Sun (Baltimore, MD), June 1973.

Environmental Protection Agency. "Environmental Justice Indexes: Traffic Proximity." Map. https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/.

Movement Against Destruction. "Environmental Impact Study - Baltimore Region." March 1973. Box: 2, Folder: 59. Movement Against Destruction Records. Baltimore Studies Archives, Baltimore, MD.

Paull, Evans. "Commentary: The 50-year Journey down Baltimore's Highway to Nowhere." The Baltimore Banner. Last modified June 2023. Accessed November 10, 2023. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/opinion/community-voices/black-west-baltimore-highway-to-nowhere-HVOQS56F7VGPHLDAZHNZRIW63M/.

Social Explorer. "Total Population: Black or African American Alone." Map. 2021. https://www.socialexplorer.com/70991250fb/view.

Stimpson, Ashley. "Baltimore's 'Highway to Nowhere' Destroyed Black Neighborhoods. The Inflation Reduction Act Could Help Tear it Down." Fast Company. Last modified October 2022. Accessed November 10, 2023.https://www.fastcompany.com/90793956/baltimores-highway-to-nowhere-destroyed-black-neighborhoods-the-inflation-reduction-act-could-help-tear-it-down.