Racial Segregation, Freeways, and Institutional Mechanisms in Pasadena

Abstract

In 2022, the State of California made a landmark decision to relinquish ownership over a controversial “stub” of State Route 710 to the City of Pasadena, which is now considering new uses for the land. The stub — the only part constructed of a now-cancelled freeway expansion — as well as the 210 freeway to its north ran through many of the city’s historic neighborhoods, including its enclaves of color. To approach this opportunity from a lens of restorative justice, researchers from the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and Institute of Transportation Studies analyzed U.S. Census data and reviewed historical documents to examine the roles of freeways and institutional mechanisms in shaping patterns of racial and ethnic residential segregation in Pasadena.

About the Project

This study documents the historical and current patterns of racial/ethnic residential segregation in Pasadena, examining the role of freeways and other mechanisms in shaping these outcomes. Pasadena and the wider Los Angeles County have become more racially diverse over time. Despite these broader changes, neighborhoods along the built and unbuilt freeway corridor have grown increasingly segregated and economically polarized. From 1960 to 1970, tracts affected by freeway construction lost almost 1,800 units of housing (-28%), while the city overall and the South tract, not directly impacted by freeway construction, experienced steady growth. Home values, rents, and income generally fell north of SR-710 but rose around it and south of it. Pasadena mirrored national trends in housing discrimination, including redlining, racially restrictive covenants, school integration resistance, and anti-integration ballot measures. In the face of these barriers, residents of color successfully organized protests and pursued legal remedies. Urban renewal projects, particularly around the SR-710 stub, disproportionately displaced communities of color under the guise of eliminating urban blight. Freeway development in Pasadena left a lasting legacy of environmental and social inequality.