Charles T. Brown, founder and CEO of Equitable Cities, discusses his recently published book, "Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement."
This event is in person and will be livestreamed to the library's YouTube channel.
About the Book (from the publisher):
In "Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement," Charles T. Brown, founder and CEO of Equitable Cities, examines why mobility is not afforded in the same way to everyone. He argues that the legacy of structural racism and White supremacy has led to disinvestment and over-policing in Black communities and communities of color, thwarting opportunity, as physical mobility and social mobility are intrinsically linked. This experience for Black people around the world is what Brown refers to as arrested mobility.
Mobility embodies freedom and allows people, places, and cities to thrive. In the US, freedom—synonymous with national identity—is so often represented by acts of movement such as walking, cycling, driving a car or traveling to a different city. However, for Black Americans, exercising freedom of mobility continues to mean confronting the harsh reality of White fear, fragility, and violence.
Understanding the causes of arrested mobility, will help us to develop solutions to increase mobility for Black people and other marginalized groups, Brown explains. The conditions society has created have their roots in what Brown calls “The Four Ps”: Polity, Policy, Planning, and Policing. He examines the four P’s, drawing from research, his own experience and the experience of other Black Americans. Brown then suggests solutions, some of which are already being implemented in the US.
In "Arrested Mobility," Brown shows how un-arresting mobility creates an opportunity not just for a better society for Black people, but for all people. Arrested mobility is detrimental to our society as a whole, not just the people it directly harms. By not providing equitable access to jobs, community resources, and public spaces, we are limiting the potential of a large percentage of our population to participate and contribute to society. Change is possible. We can un-arrest mobility together. Charles T. Brown shows us how.
Charles Brown is the founder and CEO of Equitable cities, a transportation consulting firm. Equitable cities is a minority and veteran owned urban planning, public policy and research firm focused at the intersection of transportation, health, and equity. He is also an adjunct professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Presented in partnership with Sustainable Princeton and Not In Our Town Princeton.
