Avila, E. (2014). L. A. ’s invisible freeway revolt: The cultural politics of fighting freeways. Journal of Urban History, 40(5), 831–842. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144214536857
This paper argues that “Freeway Revolts”, or protests against the construction of highways, took place beyond the more well known neighborhoods that successfully avoided having highways built through them, such as Beverly Hills and the New Orleans French Quarter. Study of less affluent minority communities reveals protests against those highways in the form of creative expression, rather than just petitions and lawsuits.
The largest source of evidence in this paper is the highways built through East Los Angeles. The region was a target early on for redlining, which resulted in neighborhoods dominated by Chicano culture. As highways were built through these neighborhoods with little regard for their impact, many local artists began expressing their displeasure with the situation through paintings and murals.
This paper argues that “The cultural texts reviewed in this article provide a sampling of the folklore of the freeway, a
compilation of words and images that record the on-the-ground experience of highway construction and its inimical consequences for the communities hardest hit by that program.” I agree with the statements being made, and I think similar study should be conducted on other urban areas heavily impacted by highway construction.