Under the Overpass: Noise and Toxic Pollution in New Orleans

Arrested Mobility

For nearly her entire life, Amy Stelly has lived in the Treme district of New Orleans. Her house is near the Claiborne Expressway, a piece of Interstate-10 that was built through the neighborhood in 1969. The Claiborne Expressway is one of many American highways to divide and deprive Black communities.

Not only has this infrastructure damaged these neighborhoods economically and culturally, but it’s also dangerous. These highways pollute the environment with high levels of noise and harmful particulate matter. So ever since she was a little girl, Amy Stelly has been determined to do something about the Claiborne Expressway.

In this episode, we'll talk to Drew Hawkins, a journalist who originally reported this story for the Gulf States Newsroom.