2/15/2011 10:17

Conservatism of the Poor

A couple years ago the government determined to rebuild Military Avenue. Military is a west-side business strip, but from my perspective it is primarily an obstacle to biking (and walking) farther west. Over the years, however, I had established routes and tricks which allowed me to get across and beyond Militray Avenue with, if not convenience, at least predictability.

My reaction to the decision was largely negative. I knew, of course, that the existing road was inadequate and in disrepair. But the process of rebuilding a major street introduces a multitude of new obstacles which spread beyond the street itself. During demolition and reconstruction, Military Avenue, most crossings, and many of the neighboring streets would be difficult to navigate. Then, when construction was finally completed (which happened last fall), it would be necessary for me to reanalyze all my routes and to develop new methods for accessing regions to the west.

And so it proved to be. All during construction, there was neither ease of movement nor predictability in access. Every attempt to travel in any mode between the east and west side of Military Avenue required a bit of exploration and a bit of luck.

When construction ended, some routes were restored and others lost. Bicycles lanes were constructed along the rebuilt street, so that it is now feasible (if still not completely comfortable) to travel north or south along Military by bike -- an idea which was preposterous in the past for anyone with any desire to finish the trip in safety. On the other hand, some useful crossings were eliminated and some difficult crossings became more difficult.

The overall result is that I need to re-explore the entire area along Military Avenue to discover what routes and methods are now the most effective ways to travel.

Those of us who live lives of wealth or of power are at time puzzled by the depth of conservatism typical of the poor and powerless. Why is it, we wonder, that those who have the least to lose and the most to gain from almost any change whatsoever are frequently the least supportive of social change?

The answer is that the poor are like bicycle riders in a world of motor vehicles. They have little power to shape the changes which occur. They are disproportionately impacted by the process of change itself. When the change has been made, they need to spend time and effort, of which they have little to spare, in the effort to relearn how to navigate the system.

I don't have to cross Military Avenue at all, if I don't want to. I can spend as much time as I need to in learning all about the changed traffic patterns along the rebuilt road. Nevertheless, my first reaction to a project which added bike lanes to a previously unbikable route was negative: I had almost figured out how to live with the road we had, and now I would need to make large new investments of my time if I were to use the road we were going to have.

The poor and the powerless have far more to lose in social change than did the bike riders crossing Military Avenue, and less time available to invest in making corresponding changes in their own lives. It is not surprising that in actual reality the disenfanchised would be resistent to changes in the systems on which they rely to live.