Protesting the building of the Inner Belt at Pres. Howard W. Johnson's inauguration, 1966

Protesting the building of the Inner Belt at Pres. Howard W. Johnson's inauguration, 1966
Courtesy MIT Museum

Women protesting the building of the Inner Belt, appealing to MIT President Howard W. Johnson during his inauguration, Cambridge, MA, 7 October 1966.

The origins of the anti-Inner Belt highway movement centered in Cambridge, MA. Principal sources of the Inner Belt controversy included the highway’s potential effects on: housing, businesses, public-transit prospects, noise, sense of community, and costs for municipal governments. The highway was to displace an estimated 450 businesses and 1,300 families in Cambridge, most of whom the state was unequipped to help, given the ongoing property shortage. 

Adapted from "The Inner Belt Crisis: 'Unpaving the Way' with Diversity and Professional Expertise (Boston, Massachusetts)," Participedia

Timeline: 1960s
Department: Administration
Career: CommunityGovernment & LawTransportation
Object: Image
Collection: Activism, Critical Mass 1955-1968, Women