Engagement in Practice: Addressing Redlining in Introductory Civil Engineering Courses
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
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Engagement in Practice Lightning Round: Engineering with and for Community Partners
- Tagged Division
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Community Engagement Division (COMMENG)
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/47260
Paper Authors
George A Hunt P.E. University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Dr. Hunt is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska
Elizabeth G. Jones
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
orcid.org/0000-0002-7043-1426
Dr. Elizabeth G. "Libby" Jones is a professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Her areas of specialty are transportation systems, appropriate technology, service learning, and engineering education. She earned her BS in Civil Engineering at Colorado State University and her MS and PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She is active in curriculum activities at UNL at the department, college, and university levels.
Abstract
Redlining is the practice of systemic disinvestment of resources and services from residents of certain communities based on race and ethnicity. Even after the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the effects of redlining persist in the form of substandard infrastructure and services in areas that were redlined. In Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, the issue of redlining was used in two first year civil engineering courses to highlight the role of civil engineers in addressing societal issues. In our first semester, first year course (CIVE 101 Introduction to Civil Engineering), redlining was addressed as an example of how policies affect not only social justice issues but also how and where infrastructure is delivered. Building on this introduction to redlining, our second semester first year course (CIVE 102 Geomatics for Civil Engineers) course incorporated work for the Omaha Spatial Justice Project by digitizing georeferenced images from 1955 to help quantify what was lost in redlined areas of Omaha, Nebraska when US Highway 75 was constructed. Students in both classes reflected on why understanding redlining and other social justice issues are important to their future careers as civil engineers. This paper describes what was done in both classes and reflections from both students and instructors.
Hunt, G. A., & Jones, E. G. (2024, June), Engagement in Practice: Addressing Redlining in Introductory Civil Engineering Courses Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47260
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