Pasadena Now covered a study by the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA Luskin that documented how the construction of the 710 and 210 freeways from 1950 to 1980 polarized neighborhoods and heightened racial segregation in Pasadena. Paul Ong, the center’s director, presented the findings to a city advisory group considering redevelopment options for the “710 Stub,” land cleared of homes decades ago for a freeway project that was never completed. The study found that the minority population in areas affected by construction of the two freeways declined from 52% in 1950 to 23% by 1980. As a whole, Pasadena became less segregated over time thanks in part to the passage of anti-discrimination laws. However, the areas impacted by freeway construction bucked this trend, becoming more segregated, according to the study. “We have this contradiction in terms of what these massive infrastructures are doing in terms of residential patterns along race lines,” Ong told the advisory group.