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At risk of being told he didn't spend all those years at Harvard to have to listen to some transpo justice advocate, I will ask that 2021 be the year that urbanists stop oversimplifying concerns of low-income communities of color in order to dismiss them outright. https://twitter.com/JakeAnbinder/status/1352669229636608004
Physical and traffic-related barriers are not the only barriers to access people of color face, particularly in disenfranchised and disinvested areas.
And if we *only* allow for contemplation of the barriers faced by people who can take their access to the streets for granted and have the means to situate themselves in locations where they can choose their mode of transit, then you are potentially facilitating gentrification.
If you're not also talking about racial justice issue in terms of youth that opt to drive to their jobs b/c their blocks are too hot and they're afraid they might get jacked, pressed, shot, or harassed by police on the way, then you're just equitywashing https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1116365432670134272
That young man 
doesn't have a license. He'd much rather bike - he loves his fixie and he wants nothing more than to ride everywhere. But he risks driving because it is safer for him.
doesn't have a license. He'd much rather bike - he loves his fixie and he wants nothing more than to ride everywhere. But he risks driving because it is safer for him.
Other youth can't risk or don't feel safe waiting at bus stops. See this thread about a young man who was trying to get his life on track but was afraid of being spotted by members of a rival 'hood or having to walk through their neighborhood. https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1116354664784486400
I've lost count of the number of threads I've done on this issue alone. And it's just one of many that urbanists of privilege ignore when talking about safe streets and their view of justice. https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1264937176657088512
A map like the one below doesn't constrain my mobility. As an ambiguous brown female, I can move through most spaces freely. So if you put a bike lane somewhere, it's an amenity for *me.* https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1264938697171955712
But for someone like Slimm, who has to be aware of which blocks he's crossing if he wants to keep his bike or stay alive, it may not be...meaning putting a bike lane there isn't justice for him or youth like him. https://la.streetsblog.org/2018/05/01/i-cant-go-everywhere-that-i-thought-i-could-go-when-black-and-brown-cyclists-need-safety-from-more-than-traffic/
Again, that's one of myriad reasons why a bike lane makes folks bristle and ask whomst it is for. Top among them, for ex., would be things like folks asking for all kinds of fixes for years and years and then the city coming and offering a bike lane while still ignoring all else.
Declaring your desire to make driving inconvenient for ppl who work one or more jobs at off-peak hours in distant or inconvenient or poorly-connected-by-transit locations because of the legacy of redlining is also maybe not the best way to convince folks you care about justice.
And if you ask me this question, which a lot of people do... https://twitter.com/brennangriffin/status/1352677895609712655
Then I would ask you this. https://twitter.com/sahrasulaiman/status/1264959464840368128
For the communities in question, their "both" would likely entail discussion of the kinds of investments that would make them safe *and* allow them to retain their foothold in their community so they can enjoy those investments.
To end this 
I will tell you of the time a city rep stood in the rec center of the park controlled by the Rollin' 30s on the street that was the former stomping grounds of the Grim Sleeper and told me he was there to teach ppl to see their streets as sites of recreation.
I will tell you of the time a city rep stood in the rec center of the park controlled by the Rollin' 30s on the street that was the former stomping grounds of the Grim Sleeper and told me he was there to teach ppl to see their streets as sites of recreation.
Actually, I have to get back to work. But please know I practiced remarkable restraint and did not drag that man outside by his bowtie.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for reading.
As an addendum, I let Slimm know folks are seeing his story (embedded in the thread above) and learning from his experiences navigating L.A.’s streets and he is genuinely happy he is being heard. It means more to him than you could know.
