Project Description
If you’ve bought groceries in the U.S. this past week, chances are at least one item came from California’s Central Valley. Like much of the country’s industrial farmland, railroads and irrigation transformed the region from prairie grasslands into the “world’s agribusiness capital.” But growth also required better transportation links. In the mid-20th century, freeways cut through Fresno, connecting farm products to national markets while displacing neighborhoods and reshaping the city.
This storymap examines the trade-offs — highlighting how infrastructure that powered California’s agricultural economy also deepened inequities in local communities.
For more information on the study and links to the publications, visit the project page: its.ucla.edu/project/further-implications-freeway-siting-california.