By: Sarah Garwood ’19
Last Friday, IPED students met with Gregory Jost at the Andrew Freedman House Designing the WE studio to learn about the history of redlining in the Bronx, New York. The interactive presentation included historic maps of the city, government documents from the late 1930s, and visual representations of historic events over the past several decades.
The presentation exposed the systemic racism involved in the segregation and resettlement of people across various neighborhoods in the Bronx in the 30s and 40s. Neighborhoods were labelled and rated based on the populations that lived in each area and subsequently experienced pressures and discrimination from lending organizations, housing providers, and neighbors. Repercussions of these policies are still prevalent today.
After viewing the exhibit, we headed down the Grand Concourse, enjoying murals and some Jamaican cuisine along the way. The trip concluded with lunch and continued dialogue at Railroad Park.
To learn more about the history of redlining, planned shrinkage, block busting, and the interactive elements of the Undesign the Redline project, follow this link: http://www.designingthewe.com/undesign-the-redline
Gregory Jost and Designing the WE host a variety of social impact labs and projects. Check out what they’re working on and how you can get involved at: http://www.designingthewe.com/gregory/