Arrested Mobility

When low income neighborhoods receive new parks and green spaces, it can be a huge win for long-term residents. But greening initiatives can invite what we call “green gentrification.” If the rent is cheap and the neighborhood is suddenly more attractive, walkable and bikeable, then it’s very likely that wealthier people will start moving in. These are often White people entering predominantly communities of color, where due to their arrival, they begin changing the social and cultural makeup of the area. This transition doesn’t come without friction, particularly as it relates to law enforcement’s treatment of residents of color. Now, people in all communities have different ideas about what’s best for the places they live. Many people living in low-income neighborhoods do want parks, trees and bike lanes. It’s just a question of whether these communities can sustain greening without rapid, destructive gentrification and displacement. We spoke to Alessandro Rigolon, associate professor in the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. Photo by Tyler Lariviere.

Automated Traffic Enforcement, or ATE, refers to a variety of tools that are used to enforce traffic laws through technology. You usually see them as red light cameras, and speed cameras. But there are also license plate readers, bus lane enforcement cameras, and many more examples. ATE is spreading across the country very fast. There are situations where ATE can reduce speeding, and theoretically it reduces contact between police officers and Black and Brown drivers for traffic stops. But, some believe that ATE can be used to perpetuate discrimination, racism, and abuses of power rather than support equity. We spoke to Priya Sarathy Jones, Deputy Executive Director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center. You can read their report, "Caution: We’re Driving the Wrong Way on Automated Traffic Enforcement," here.

A local bus or train ride usually costs between one and three dollars. But many Americans living in public transportation-dense cities choose to evade paying for transit tickets when possible. They get on the bus through the back door and avoid the driver. And in bigger cities, it’s common practice to hop the turnstile on the subway. Fare evasion can cost transit agencies across the country tens, even hundreds of millions of dollars. It affects their ability to provide consistent bus and train service, which in turn affects riders on their way to work, school, home, or wherever they need to go. On the other hand, enforcement of fare evasion has historically been racially targeted. When police stop people for hopping the turnstile, there is a heightened opportunity for violence against riders of color. This method of enforcement also ends up discriminating against people with lower incomes. If cities are going to enforce transit fares, it must be done in an equitable way. We spoke to Ben Brachfeld, a transit reporter for amNewYork; Haleema Bharoocha, Policy Advocate at the Anti Police-Terror Project and author of the article, Op-Ed: Why Is Fare Evasion Punished More Severely than Speeding?; and Dr. Sogand Karbalaieali, a transportation engineer and author of the article Opinion: Fights Over Fare Evasion Are Missing the Point.

The 15-minute city, or neighborhood, was conceived by Carlos Moreno, a professor and influencer in Paris. It’s an area where residents can access everything they need in their life - food, work, school, community gathering places - within 15 minutes of their home. The 15-minute city reduces reliance on cars, improves the quality of life for residents, and makes cities more sustainable and environmentally friendly. In a recent lecture with urban planning students at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Charles spoke to students about the delicate balance required of 15-minute cities, if they are to be adopted in the United States. 15-minute cities might work in Europe, but urban planners face unique challenges when designing American cities and neighborhoods.

In Central Wisconsin, undocumented immigrants from Latin America make up the majority of the workforce in the dairy industry. Although these undocumented folks are allowed to own and register vehicles, they can’t get driver’s licenses without legal residency. As a result, police in rural Wisconsin often racially profile drivers of color, knowing that they may not have a license to be on the road. We spoke to Melissa Sanchez, a reporter for ProPublica who inspired this episode with her article, “Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry Relies on Undocumented Immigrants, but the State Won’t Let Them Legally Drive.” We also heard from Tony Gonzalez, founder of the American Hispanic Association, and local dairy farmer Hans Breitenmoser.

Many Black students live in over-policed, under-funded communities. School should be a safe space for them, a refuge from surveillance and a place to explore. But almost 70% of public high schools and middle schools have police officers on site, and Black students have contact with police more often than White students. When there’s police inside the school, and police outside the school, law enforcement is a constant presence in these students' lives. Today, we're talking to Corey Mitchell, a senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity who co-wrote the article "When schools call police on kids." We'll hear from Dr. DeMarcus Jenkins, an assistant professor in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Finally, we'll speak with Amir Whitaker, senior policy counsel with the ACLU of Southern California. Please also consider this list of resources on the topic, compiled by Subini Ancy Annamma, Ph.D: "Education and Criminalization: Do Black Lives Matter in Schools."

In a majority Black and Latino neighborhood of Hammond, Indiana, children are clambering over and under stopped train cars to get to school. These trains are halted by rail traffic at pedestrian intersections, and there are not a lot of enforceable laws to keep them moving. Blocked crossings can pose an inconvenience, or a deadly obstacle, to Americans of all kinds. But in the United States, we usually find that the people living around train tracks are Black and Brown folks who are living in a state of arrested mobility. In this episode, we'll talk to Topher Sanders, an investigative reporter from ProPublica who co-wrote the article, "As Rail Profits Soar, Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School." We'll also speak to Akicia Henderson, a mother of three living in Hammond whose home is right by the train tracks.

Thank you all for listening to Season 1 of the podcast. We're happy to announce that Arrested Mobility is returning for Season 2 this July. We’ll be covering more major themes in equity, but also diving into current events and injustices – topics like railroads disrupting Black communities, the presence of police officers in schools, food insecurity and food deserts, and much more. This podcast is totally self-funded. So please check out our new Patreon for the podcast - that’s the best way to contribute, join our community, and get access to all-new exclusive content. You can find it at Please visit our website, where you can read the Arrested Mobility report and review past episodes, show notes, and transcripts. Let us know what topics we should cover in this upcoming season, or just say hi - you can reach out on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Thank you so much for your support. Links:

To quote the famous Black author, Audre Lorde, none of us live single-issue, nor single-identity lives. When you consider how people with compounding identities may experience overlapping structures, and systems of oppression - we call that intersectionality. And when it comes to arrested mobility, an intersectional approach can reveal more about the challenges that different Black people face when they enter and move through public space. Today, we're going to focus mostly on how Black women, femme and trans folks have had their mobility arrested while navigating public transit. We're going to think about what equitable, accessible, intersectional mobility looks like.

In 2014, Lance Rodriguez was riding a bike around Queens, New York, when he was stopped by police. Whether you know it or not, a very different legal precedent has been established for when police stop bike riders, versus when they stop drivers in motor vehicles. Stopping and searching cyclists is just one way that Black and Brown Americans have had their mobility arrested. Today, we’re breaking down the arguments for why cyclists should have the same protection from police stops as people in cars.

An extensive system of levees runs along the Mississippi River, from Missouri through to the Delta region of Louisiana. Some of these floodbanks have been converted into walking and biking trails, which are supposed to be open to the public. But in some rural Louisiana communities, converted levee paths are not always equitably accessible. These communities are more than 50% Black, but researchers have found that Black and White residents report different experiences when it comes to feeling safe and welcome on the levee. This means Black people are at a real disadvantage when it comes to accessing these trails, and puts them in harm's way when they do try and access the levee. Without clear guidelines, the default may be structural racism, which many claim has been, and continues to be, the law of the land in Louisiana.

On May 15th, 2022, the Black community of St. Louis, Missouri gathered downtown to celebrate the Annie Malone May Day Parade. Annie Malone was one of the first Black women to become a millionaire in the United States. The day after the parade, Public Safety Director Dan Isom held a press conference. He said that groups of young people downtown had caused traffic and safety disruptions with electric scooters. The city decided to impose a 7pm curfew on electric scooters in the downtown area. Then, just a few weeks later, St. Louis banned electric scooters altogether in two downtown neighborhoods, including the area near the famous Gateway Arch monument. The ban was in response to a shooting where two young women were injured. But the bullets were fired from a car - not an electric scooter. Links: Opinion: Banning Scooters is Not a Safety Strategy — It’s Broken Windows Policing Electric scooters banned in Downtown St. Louis after weekend violence Scooters, crowds of teens create safety hazard in downtown St. Louis over weekend Families urged to keep kids from being unattended downtown at night after violent weekend in STL St. Louis County sees highest number of people killed in traffic, pedestrian crashes in 20 years

Land-use regulations such as zoning are connected to every topic we cover on this show. When you zoom out and look at the big picture, many forms of racial inequity in America link back to how communities are planned and developed. It’s why some neighborhoods have fewer transportation options than others, and why certain parts of town have empty lots in place of parks, schools and affordable housing. Through zoning, deed restrictions and redlining, ‘desirable’ neighborhoods have historically been made inaccessible to Black Americans. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods that Black people have been pushed into are neglected and over-policed. You probably know what comes next - as a result, Black Americans have their comfort and safety threatened while crossing the street, riding their bikes, taking buses and trains, and choosing to simply exist in public space. Zoning is just one way that Black Americans have had their mobility arrested. Today, we’re exploring how land-use policy has historically contributed to institutional racism, segregation, and social and economic inequality.

We have a problem in America. That problem is pedestrians getting hit and killed by cars. It’s an issue that government officials and transportation professionals alike spend a good deal of time and money trying to solve. And while this affects every community in the country, it disproportionately affects Black and brown communities. It’s just one way that Black Americans have had their mobility arrested. Why is it that Black and brown folks are the ones most likely to be struck and killed? And why did fatalities go up in 2020 even when driving went down? Today, we’re exploring why these preventable injuries and deaths happen and what can be done about it.

For many Americans, taking public transit can be a difficult daily trial. Depending on where people live, and where they’re going, buses or trains may only come once every thirty minutes to an hour. Or, in some cases, they may not come at all. Riders might have to transfer one, two, maybe three times, and even walk or roll long distances between each stop. Many bus stops lack important amenities, like benches, shelters, and lights, so that commuters can wait comfortably for their next ride. And not every bus stop is ADA-compliant, so public transit for people with disabilities - particularly Black people with disabilities - can be especially inconvenient, and even dangerous. Our public transit systems are supposed to be designed for everyone. Instead, bus and train lines often leave behind people living in low-income communities of color. Inequity in public transit is just one way that Black Americans, particularly Black women and disabled commuters, have had their mobility arrested. Today, we’re untangling all the ways that transit networks are failing the people they are meant to serve.

Until February of 2022, Seattle was the largest city in the country where it was illegal for anyone - kids, adults or senior citizens - to ride a bike without a helmet. There’s no question that helmets save lives. But some people just aren’t going to wear them, whether or not it’s illegal. Helmet laws are similar to sidewalk riding laws. They’re intended to keep people safe, but they also give police officers an excuse to stop cyclists. So how and why did Seattle decide to repeal their helmet law? Helmet laws are just one way that Black Americans, unhoused cyclists and other marginalized communities have had their mobility arrested. Today we’re exploring how enforcement of helmet laws can give way to racial and economic injustice.

Today, we’re breaking down the tension on the sidewalk between micro mobility devices, vulnerable pedestrians, and people with disabilities. Micro mobility devices include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, and electric pedal assisted bicycles. Although micro mobility continues to be a work in progress, micro mobility vehicles can serve an important role in transportation equity. Many transportation experts want to increase adoption of micro mobility infrastructure in under-served, under-resourced neighborhoods. But in the last episode, we talked about how sidewalk riding laws are used as a tool of oppression against Black and brown cyclists. And the same is true for people learning to use shared micro mobility systems. Now, the question becomes how to expand micro mobility while protecting all community members. That means people on their way to work, people with disabilities, children, seniors, and everyone else who is trying to exist in public space.

Many states and cities in the US have laws that make it illegal to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk. But, are these laws keeping people safe? Or are they another way that Black Americans and other people of color have had their mobility arrested? Today, we investigate how law enforcement uses cycling infractions to perpetuate systemic racism in under-resourced and underserved communities. We’ll talk to Patric McCoy, who was stopped by Chicago police. We also welcome Oboi Reed and Dr. Jesus Barajas to speak about their activism and research. Next month, we’ll continue this theme on sidewalk riding by exploring the possibilities and pitfalls of micromobility devices like eScooters and eBike docking stations. We’ll also explore the importance of making room for everyone to travel safely, particularly persons with disabilities.

When you walk around a city, there are many rules you follow - or maybe, you don't follow them. You might not think about them too much. Rules like, walk on the sidewalk. Wait for the walk signal when crossing an intersection. Don't cross in the middle of the block. When you break those rules in the U.S., we call it jaywalking, and it’s illegal. But most people who jaywalk don’t think about it as a crime. In fact, most Americans admit to having jaywalked. Yet the data shows that police enforce jaywalking laws disproportionately in neighborhoods with limited pedestrian infrastructure - fewer crosswalks, sidewalks and signals, primarily underserved Black and brown communities. And so many instances of police brutality against Black Americans start when we are stopped for minor infractions like jaywalking. Jaywalking laws are just one way that Black Americans have had their mobility arrested. Today, we’re exploring the war on our right to walk in the street, and what you can do about it.

On this podcast, we’ll take you to the streets of Philly, the sidewalks of Seattle, and the neighborhoods of Kansas City. In each place, we’ll ask: Why are Black Americans disproportionately victims of race-based hate crimes? And, why are they victims of overly aggressive police enforcement and brutality while walking, running, riding bicycles, taking public transit, Or while driving? Was this by design? And what can we do to change the outcomes when Black people or other people of color step out their door to exist in the world? Explore these themes and more on upcoming episodes of Arrested Mobility, hosted by Charles T. Brown.