Arrested Mobility

Thank you all for listening to Season 1 of the podcast. We're happy to announce that Arrested Mobility is returning for Season 2 this July.

We'll be covering more major themes in equity, but also diving into current events and injustices – topics like railroads disrupting Black communities, the presence of police officers in schools, food insecurity and food deserts, and much more.

This podcast is totally self-funded. So please check out our new Patreon for the podcast - that's the best way to contribute, join our community, and get access to all-new exclusive content. You can find it at

Please visit our website, where you can read the Arrested Mobility report and review past episodes, show notes, and transcripts.

Let us know what topics we should cover in this upcoming season, or just say hi - you can reach out on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for your support.

Links:

• https://www.patreon.com/arrestedmobility
• https://www.arrestedmobility.com
• https://www.twitter.com/ctbrown1911
• https://www.instagram.com/arrestedmobilitypodcast
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesbrownmpa/

To quote the famous Black author, Audre Lorde, none of us live single-issue, nor single-identity lives. When you consider how people with compounding identities may experience overlapping structures, and systems of oppression - we call that intersectionality. And when it comes to arrested mobility, an intersectional approach can reveal more about the challenges that different Black people face when they enter and move through public space.

Today, we're going to focus mostly on how Black women, femme and trans folks have had their mobility arrested while navigating public transit. We're going to think about what equitable, accessible, intersectional mobility looks like.

In 2014, Lance Rodriguez was riding a bike around Queens, New York, when he was stopped by police.

Whether you know it or not, a very different legal precedent has been established for when police stop bike riders, versus when they stop drivers in motor vehicles.

Stopping and searching cyclists is just one way that Black and Brown Americans have had their mobility arrested. Today, we're breaking down the arguments for why cyclists should have the same protection from police stops as people in cars.

An extensive system of levees runs along the Mississippi River, from Missouri through to the Delta region of Louisiana. Some of these floodbanks have been converted into walking and biking trails, which are supposed to be open to the public.

But in some rural Louisiana communities, converted levee paths are not always equitably accessible. These communities are more than 50% Black, but researchers have found that Black and White residents report different experiences when it comes to feeling safe and welcome on the levee.

This means Black people are at a real disadvantage when it comes to accessing these trails, and puts them in harm's way when they do try and access the levee. Without clear guidelines, the default may be structural racism, which many claim has been, and continues to be, the law of the land in Louisiana.

On May 15th, 2022, the Black community of St. Louis, Missouri gathered downtown to celebrate the Annie Malone May Day Parade. Annie Malone was one of the first Black women to become a millionaire in the United States.

The day after the parade, Public Safety Director Dan Isom held a press conference. He said that groups of young people downtown had caused traffic and safety disruptions with electric scooters. The city decided to impose a 7pm curfew on electric scooters in the downtown area.

Then, just a few weeks later, St. Louis banned electric scooters altogether in two downtown neighborhoods, including the area near the famous Gateway Arch monument. The ban was in response to a shooting where two young women were injured. But the bullets were fired from a car - not an electric scooter.

Links:

Opinion: Banning Scooters is Not a Safety Strategy — It's Broken Windows Policing

Electric scooters banned in Downtown St. Louis after weekend violence

Scooters, crowds of teens create safety hazard in downtown St. Louis over weekend

Families urged to keep kids from being unattended downtown at night after violent weekend in STL

St. Louis County sees highest number of people killed in traffic, pedestrian crashes in 20 years

Land-use regulations such as zoning are connected to every topic we cover on this show. When you zoom out and look at the big picture, many forms of racial inequity in America link back to how communities are planned and developed. It's why some neighborhoods have fewer transportation options than others, and why certain parts of town have empty lots in place of parks, schools and affordable housing.

Through zoning, deed restrictions and redlining, 'desirable' neighborhoods have historically been made inaccessible to Black Americans. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods that Black people have been pushed into are neglected and over-policed. You probably know what comes next - as a result, Black Americans have their comfort and safety threatened while crossing the street, riding their bikes, taking buses and trains, and choosing to simply exist in public space.

Zoning is just one way that Black Americans have had their mobility arrested. Today, we're exploring how land-use policy has historically contributed to institutional racism, segregation, and social and economic inequality.

We have a problem in America. That problem is pedestrians getting hit and killed by cars. It's an issue that government officials and transportation professionals alike spend a good deal of time and money trying to solve.

And while this affects every community in the country, it disproportionately affects Black and brown communities. It's just one way that Black Americans have had their mobility arrested.

Why is it that Black and brown folks are the ones most likely to be struck and killed? And why did fatalities go up in 2020 even when driving went down?

Today, we're exploring why these preventable injuries and deaths happen and what can be done about it.

For many Americans, taking public transit can be a difficult daily trial. Depending on where people live, and where they're going, buses or trains may only come once every thirty minutes to an hour. Or, in some cases, they may not come at all. Riders might have to transfer one, two, maybe three times, and even walk or roll long distances between each stop.

Many bus stops lack important amenities, like benches, shelters, and lights, so that commuters can wait comfortably for their next ride. And not every bus stop is ADA-compliant, so public transit for people with disabilities - particularly Black people with disabilities - can be especially inconvenient, and even dangerous.

Our public transit systems are supposed to be designed for everyone. Instead, bus and train lines often leave behind people living in low-income communities of color.

Inequity in public transit is just one way that Black Americans, particularly Black women and disabled commuters, have had their mobility arrested. Today, we're untangling all the ways that transit networks are failing the people they are meant to serve.

Until February of 2022, Seattle was the largest city in the country where it was illegal for anyone - kids, adults or senior citizens - to ride a bike without a helmet.

There's no question that helmets save lives. But some people just aren't going to wear them, whether or not it's illegal. Helmet laws are similar to sidewalk riding laws. They're intended to keep people safe, but they also give police officers an excuse to stop cyclists.

So how and why did Seattle decide to repeal their helmet law?

Helmet laws are just one way that Black Americans, unhoused cyclists and other marginalized communities have had their mobility arrested. Today we're exploring how enforcement of helmet laws can give way to racial and economic injustice.

Today, we're breaking down the tension on the sidewalk between micro mobility devices, vulnerable pedestrians, and people with disabilities. Micro mobility devices include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycles, and electric pedal assisted bicycles. Although micro mobility continues to be a work in progress, micro mobility vehicles can serve an important role in transportation equity. Many transportation experts want to increase adoption of micro mobility infrastructure in under-served, under-resourced neighborhoods. But in the last episode, we talked about how sidewalk riding laws are used as a tool of oppression against Black and brown cyclists. And the same is true for people learning to use shared micro mobility systems.

Now, the question becomes how to expand micro mobility while protecting all community members. That means people on their way to work, people with disabilities, children, seniors, and everyone else who is trying to exist in public space.