Summon the name of any city, and we often impulsively think of images of the skylines, famous land-marks, sports mascots, or features like rivers, lakes, or sea-ports. But rarely do we think of cities in terms of transit systems. Arguably, of all urban infrastructure, transit systems have the greatest impact on the shape of our cities and the coherence of our neighborhoods. Transit systems make up the circulatory system of a city and they determine how we move, connect (or not), and go about the affairs of daily survival in urban America. Transit systems also present a major conflict in many urban environments- the conflict between speed and community coherence.
Moving Places looks at three epochs of transit history and how each has shaped the city of Cleveland in powerful ways. The film begins with the “Streetcar City”, which investigates how electric rail shaped the underlying urban design patterns that still dominate Cleveland today. Streetcars provided a democratic means of conveyance in the early city, utilized by rich and poor alike while offering a common point of social mixing in a city otherwise segregated into dozens of ethnic enclaves. Streetcars were not without controversy, however, as city-wide riots in 1899 resulted from multiple fatalities, including children, at the hands of streetcars tearing through crowded working-class neighborhoods.
The second part of the film, “Highway City”, looks at how the development of freeways and the move to private automobiles ultimately led to a hollowing out of the city and a transit system that incentivized economic and, often, racial segregation. The Highway City centers around the 1960’s “Freeway Fights”, which combined a potent grassroots campaign with leadership from Mayor Carl Stokes to successfully halt a proposed freeway. The freeway route would have devastated African-American working class neighborhoods in the city and greenspace and historic homes in its surrounding inner-ring suburbs. The Freeway Fights reveal a rare moment of common cause between the central city and its surrounding suburbs. The final part, “Bike City”, looks at the move toward a more livable, walkable city and the emergence of biking as an integral component of urban transportation, whether for recreation, socializing, or commuting. Going full circle, the urban design patterns left behind by the city’s streetcar system create underlying conditions favorable to biking transit.
This film ultimately demonstrates that “history matters”. Many of the challenges that we face today have their roots in choices and decisions made many generations ago. Moving forward to create a more just and resilient city that works for all of its residents requires understanding how history shapes the spaces we live and, often, the choices that we have. Understanding history motivates us to see ourselves in the flow of events, challenging us to consider the legacy of our choices today on later generations. The simple act of locomotion can be one area where we can consider our impacts on the ecological and community integrity of our cities.
