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  1. Mar 2017
    1. Throughout history, people have used varied methods to exclude undesirable individuals from places where they were not wanted. People used the law by passing ordinances saying that certain individuals could not access certain locations.24 Social norms encouraged some to threaten undesirable persons with violence if they were to enter or remain in certain spaces.25 And cities were constructed in ways—including by erecting physical barriers—that made it very difficult for people from one side of town to access the other side.26 The first two methods of discrimination have received sustained attention from legal scholars; the third form, which I refer to as architecture, has not. This Part departs from tradition by focusing on architecture instead of ordinances and social norms.

      I have learned a lot from this article, the history of MARTA, and why the routes are placed where they are. Most of us know the history of slavery, we do know that industrial North wanted the progress in economy and that's where most of wealthy educated white people loved, while South still were fighting to keep slavery, that was the only way they could profit. IF we look now we aren't gonna see slavery anymore of course, but we still see discrimination through different things and one of them is architecture. This article focuses on architecture of Atlanta and how MARTA transit was build around it. What I noticed is that it doesn't go up north allot, it mostly stay here in the south and middle of Atlanta city. The reason of these being I think, is that people who live at North of Atlanta are mostly upper middle class citizens and higher. And they do not need a transit station, because most of them can afford a car. In addition to that they do not want low class citizens, which are mostly African Americans and Hispanics to have an access to their neighborhoods. This is a great example of discrimination and racism against minorities here in United States. The layout of a MARTA map is so controversial for that particular reason. If we take a look on how city use design to "get rid" of homeless people, which is, making benches that are impossible to sleep on, or spikes on the ground in the corner of an apartment. Here we can see similar situation, which is getting rid of unwanted individuals, even thou it has nothing to do with racism, this actions are still inhuman and ugly. I believe that architecture plays a huge role in people life, and explanation I have stated is a good example of it.