*SCHINDLER, SARAH. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination And Segregation Through Physical Design Of The Built Environment.” Yale Law Journal 124.6 (2015): 1934-2024. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

Throughout history, people have used varied methods to exclude undesirable Individuals from places where they were not wanted (Schindler p.1942). The article, SCHINDLER, SARAH. “Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation through Physical Design of The Built Environment” convey that white/wealthier classes were voluntarily condoning the use of built environments to segregate people by their class or ethnicity. From New York to Atlanta, people are manipulating built environment’s for racial and prejudice circumstances. A built environment such as a bridge is built intentionally low so that public transportation (buses), are not be able to get through the bridge. Buses were mainly used by people of a lower class and minorities such as African Americans. “Wealthy, mostly white residents of the northern Atlanta suburbs have vocally opposed efforts to expand MARTA into their neighborhoods for the reason that doing so would give people of color easy access to suburban communities. The lack of public transit connections to areas north of the city makes it difficult for those who rely on transit—primarily the poor and people of color—to access job opportunities located in those suburbs” (Schindler p.1937). This statement gives proof of the higher class malicious intent to segregate themselves from minorities. The higher class blinds the legal enforcement by explaining that restricting public transportation would reduce noise and promote safety, which is not necessarily true. However, the law enforcers abide by the higher class justifications and therefore didn’t permit buses coming to the wealthier/white neighborhoods. The majority (whites), uses the built environment’s to their advantage to eliminate black people form their community. People that shapes the built environment (Infrastructures) has ultimately used the built environment as a form of regulation than physical design. These physical barriers in place forces minorities and poor people to not have access to well-paid jobs, or access to upscale living. In addition the “slight in convenience “is forcing them to stay in their environment.This “slight convenience” is causing states , Tennessee , to build a highway indirectly to separate whites and negro’s communities.”One could view this as a prime example of a court suggesting that architecture is not its business; the court failed to see this architectural decision as a regulatory decision with which it should be concerned. Rather, it saw the architectural decision as an issue for planners, engineers, and the executive—rather than the legislative or judicial—branches of government The whites are creating physical barriers to separate themselves and law enforcement fail to see it”.(Schindler 1999).The injustice practices that have been accepted throughout the United States proves that segregation is still alive today its just a different method. Using these built environments and persuading law enforcement that its anything besides racism is false and has been proven with many scenario’s(buses, highways , and road signs).  Throughout this article, Schindler focuses on how government and infrastructures uses physical environments such as, bridges, road signs, and public transportation to regulate segregation and discrimination across the United States and inhibit minorities to from accessing better environments and migrating to where they please.

 

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