Katrina revealed longstanding “automobile apartheid”

One of Hurricane Katrina’s many lessons is that those who walk, cycle, or ride public transit instead of owning a car get treated like second-class citizens. Getting stranded during a natural disaster is an extreme example, but it’s of a piece with public-policy decisions across the country that prioritize the safety and convenience of car owners over that of nondrivers. Joel S. Hirschhorn calls for an end to the discrimination.