harjap

Was part of a "just transition" conversation in Montreal where the closure of some streets in the urban core was being celebrated. The specific neighborhood was becoming increasingly white mostly with French migration (surprise!, no backlash against these immigrants).

A Black participant who identified as working class from the suburbs complained during the session that it has made it impossible for people to drive in from the burbs to visit their friends & family, see a show or eat at a restaurant in the area.

Looking at a city like Vancouver, supposed champion of "green" planning, it is obvious that the majority of bike lanes, infrastructure and transit density exists within the core of the city. Suburbs are also improving but not at a similar rate. Bike lanes are paint on highways.

So, because of the concentration of economic wealth, the racial segregation in many cities, along with the race and class based political neglect to spend in certain parts of the city, we are likely going to expand the colonial and capitalist hierarchy we already see globally.

One of the most obvious things outside the city is the lack of transit in rural areas & the impact this has on residents, indigenous communities particularly. The horrific reality of murder and missing indigenous women has not even been enough to establish adequate transit.

There is also a softer development of colonial border logic through these road closures, "for local traffic only" policies that seem to pop up in affluent / urban neighborhoods. It's not to say that these policies should not exist (to make streets safer for kids, bikes, etc).

But it is clear these policies are unequally applied. Often have to do with increasing property values. Poor & BIPOC neighborhoods have had highways & new traffic lanes imposed on them. And they do not benefit from "car free policies" because they are also made dependent on cars.

The reliance on cars is due to under developed transit systems for the poor, transit costs exceeding parking costs downtown, etc. Transit needs to be free & should not be built to support the wealthiest parts of cities.

And the wealth of cities needs to be redistributed. Similar to schools in wealthy parts of cities it is unacceptable for affluent neighborhoods to hoard resources for themselves and then develop policies to keep others out (police, parking, road closures, school zoning, etc).

This is the ongoing colonial logic, new enclosures, the creation of new gated communities, new ghettos, municiple boundaries and reserves. And why many people want to dismantle economic & political systems before building solutions. Colonial states = colonial solutions.