How The Kennedy Expressway Cemented Segregation In Chicago

Chicago’s expressways can be traced back to the 1908 Plan of Chicago that envisioned a road system of roads that connected the city center to distant neighborhoods. But in the process of constructing them, thousands of residents were displaced – more than half of whom were Black, despite being only 23% of the city’s total population. And the result was the entrenchment of segregation in Chicago. For a walk through this history, Reset turns to two reporters: Richard Cahan, journalist, author Lost In America: Photographing the Last Days of our Architectural Treasures, and Susy Shultz, freelance editor and journalist, looking into this legacy.