EXHIBITS
(In) The Road of Progress: The West Side and I-15: Red Lined, No-Lined, and Industrial Growth
Red Lined, No-Lined, and Industrial Growth
Early in the twentieth century the west side had been redlined, a discriminatory practice that denied residents of certain areas financial assistance from the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation. This was not only due to its ethnically diverse community but also, in large part, due to its industrial setting. By the end of the 1960s, it was illegal to redline. Nonetheless this earlier practice significantly impacted the west side. The Pioneer Park Community within the west side was labeled “industrial,” also known as a “no-lined” designation, indicating that the area was not inhabitable.
“Woven between the railroad yards and spurs, warehouses and manufacturing plants, were dozens of upstairs flats, small apartment blocks, and housing accessible only through alleyways. In this setting, waves of immigrants lived, including, by the mid-twentieth century, a thriving Mexican American community.” [1]
Whether the redlined status of this part of the city contributed to the placement of the freeway is up for debate, but what is clear is that the freeway furthered the industrialization of this section of the city.[1]
Pollution in the West Side
The west side is no stranger to air pollution. Factories billowed smoke into the community since their arrival, leading to investigations and regulation concerning the city’s air quality at-large through the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. [2]
By the end of the 1950s, as homes and industries began adopting natural gas rather than coal, emissions declined somewhat and air quality improved. That improvement was short lived, however, as unregulated automobile emissions soon took hold of the state.[3]
As industry continued to grow and more drivers adopted the interstate as part of their daily. commute. Proximity to the interstate meant that west side residents were especially. impacted by pollution. The west side’s proximity resulted in the area becoming a pollution hotspot. [4]
Environmental Consequences
The pollution of the west side created long term challenges the area is still grappling with today. For the economically disadvantaged, the west side has remained a viable option for living not in spite of the pollution but because of it. The lower property values have aided in keeping this area a hub for immigrants and people of color unable to afford housing in the city’s less polluted neighborhoods. These perpetual inequalities result in further exposure to environmental harms for vulnerable communities.[5]
"What began with a single decision in 1870, to place depots and railroad yards in the west side, influenced the area’s long-term identity. With the area’s congested railroad yards and tracks, pollution, warehouses, and factories, along with a concentration of largely poor non-Mormon immigrants, the area became a central location for marginalized low wage workers. Unfortunately, desperate and impoverished people are often discriminated against, or taken advantage of, by industry and corporations."
- Brad Westwood [6]
In the wake of the aridification of the Great Salk Lake west side residents face increased exposure to environmental harms:
“We already know our air quality takes lives or shortens lives, which was that first moment of action for me with my newborn. This is a challenge unlike anything we’ve grappled with as air quality advocates. But I don’t feel fear in an incapable sense.”
– Erin Mendenhall [7]
Endnotes:
[1] Brad Westwood et al., “Redlining, Housing Segregation and Environmental Pollution in the Pioneer Park Neighborhood (and Beyond),” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/redlining-housing-segregation-and-environmental-pollution-in-the-pioneer-park-neighborhood-and-beyond/
[2] Logan Mitchell and Rachel Jane Wittmann, “The History of Air Quality in Utah,” J. Willard Marriott Library, accessed June 1, 2023, https://exhibits.lib.utah.edu/s/history-of-air-quality-in-utah/page/1850-1920.
[3] Logan Mitchell and Rachel Jane Wittmann, “The History of Air Quality in Utah,” J. Willard Marriott Library, accessed June 1, 2023, https://exhibits.lib.utah.edu/s/history-of-air-quality-in-utah/page/1930-1960
[4] Brad Westwood et al., Redlining, Housing Segregation and Environmental Pollution in the Pioneer Park Neighborhood (and Beyond), Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/redlining-housing-segregation-and-environmental-pollution-in-the-pioneer-park-neighborhood-and-beyond/
[5] Westwood et al., “Redlining, Housing Segregation and Environmental Pollution.”
[6] Brad Westwood, “Current Challenges and Developments in a Post-industrial Neighborhood: Part Two,” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/current-challenges-and-developments-in-a-post-industrial-neighborhood-part-two/
[7] Oliver Milman, “‘Not much time left’: Salt Lake City’s mayor on the Great Lake drying up,” The Guardian, February 18, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/18/salt-lake-city-mayor-erin-mendenhall-utah-great-lake-decline-climate-crisis.