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REMOVING INTERSTATE 81 Paving the way to connect communities Words by Madeleine Oliveros and Qiong Wu Art by Adam DJ
In the early 1960s, the 15th Ward was a vibrant, flourishing neighborhood in downtown Syracuse, New York. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, this neighborhood was home to nearly 90% of Syracuse's African American population. However, residents of this neighborhood soon became jarringly disrupted by the construction of Interstate 81 (or I-81), a highway that extends from Tennessee to the Canadian border in upstate New York. To make space for I-81, the city tore down houses and forced residents to relocate. Upon completion, the highway cut off the 15th Ward from the rest of the Syracuse downtown area and physically separated different communities in the city by wealth. The highway also allowed the wealthier population, who are mostly White, to seamlessly move into the suburbs. This left the poorer areas in the city with little means for moving up socioeconomically. Nearby residents were also plagued by loud noise and air pollution, the second of which often led to respiratory illnesses that sometimes resulted in death. These effects remain to this day. Over the past few years, as the highway has reached the end of its lifespan, there has been debate in the city about what should be done about it. Eventually, it was decided that I-81 should be torn down. This decision was supported by Syracuse University, with Chancellor Kent Syverud publicly endorsing the plan. But what happens after that? Maren King, emeritus associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at SUNY-ESF, conducted a research project drawing from voices of community members to build a possible model of what the area might look like following rebuilding after the highway is torn down. The project, according to King, involved
twelve community members who built physical models of what they wanted to accomplish. Their goals included improving air quality and adding a buffer between the roadway and nearby houses. The designs were then discussed and improved upon to make them more realistic. According to King, the conversations that occurred through the modeling process gave community members a more active voice. "Part of our mission is to have a collaborative sharing of knowledge [so] that it's not just me taking information from community members," King said. King submitted a report on the process and findings of the research project to the city, not intending to offer any definitive solution as to what the area should look like, but rather show