The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Racial Basis for Interstate Highways and Urban Renewal

Abstract

This article analyzes how Interstate Highways were used in Montgomery, Alabama, to maintain racial hierarchies during the civil rights movement, how the routing of Interstate Highways through Montgomery changed over time, and the connections between Interstate Highway routing and the racially volatile political environment after the Montgomery Bus Boycott. To address these issues, the article analyzes the planning of the Interstate Highways and the Urban Renewal areas in the city. The article concludes that highway engineering in Montgomery took a more racially motivated turn after the Bus Boycott with the rise of a racially charged political environment in 1959.