By Rachel Dovey
Per the Supreme Court’s June ruling, cities receiving HUD funds must now check long-entrenched practices of structural discrimination, like clustering affordable housing in just one or two zip codes. In the wealthy suburbs north of Chicago, a group of activists sees the federal overhaul as a chance to address one of exclusionary zoning’s equally problematic but less visible counterparts: transportation inequality.
To demonstrate their point, Brendan Saunders of Open Communities and Kyle Smith of the Center for Neighborhood Technology cite Sunset Village, a manufactured housing community in Glenview. Originally built on unincorporated land, the affordable neighborhood has struggled with water contamination and a lack of basic infrastructure like fire hydrants over the years. Today, bus service remains infrequent. The 422 is the sole route on nearby Waukegan Road, and it runs only during peak hours. On weekends, it doesn’t run at all.
