Questions for Matt Miller

Matt Miller’s article on the destruction of I-496 was very informative and interesting. I can not believe how much devastation it brought to the people of Lansing. I really like how Miller is able to show both sides of the story. He has interviewees that think the highway was a blessing and others that thought it “cut the heart out of the neighborhood.” Here are my questions that I have for Mr. Miller:

Why didn’t Lansing’s black leaders fight against the highway at first?

How many houses were destroyed and how many people total had to move?

How many people were affected by the construction of I-496 in Lansing?

What was the government’s reasoning for putting the highway through the community they picked (the one with the large black population)?

Where there any non-black people in the area? Can we hear their stories?

I feel the most important questions would be: How many people did you interview? What was your main source, where you found most of your information?

What impact does the construction of I-496 still have on Lansing today?

I was actually in the downtown Lansing area near I-496 recently. When trying to locate historic sites, I of course had to circle many times before finding my final destinations. As I made my way around, I noticed several businesses and many ran down buildings and a few houses. The area is not very busy (at least not around noon) and there are few people out and about. It looks like Washington Street near the highway was once full of life, but now you can see by the photo the desertion and few people.