Why Zip Codes? Virtual Roundtable

The US Postal Service introduced Zip Codes (Zone Improvement Plan) in the mid 1960s to speed up mail delivery by marking precise geographic locations. But Zip Codes are also maps of brutal social inequalities affecting the lives and even the life expectancies of our communities. Bringing together scholars and activists, this virtual roundtable will ask: How has the Zip Code legacy shaped our experience and understanding of the ongoing pandemic? Can thinking through Zip Code maps help us equalize access to healthcare, safety and well-being? Can Zip Codes be mobilized in activist pursuits of social justice?

 

 

Panelists

Gregg Gonsalves, Epidemiology, Yale University

Bill Rankin, History of Science, Yale University

Jacqueline Wernimont, Digital Humanities and Social Engagement, Dartmouth College

Jia Zhang, Columbia University Center for Spatial Research

 

Moderator, Laura Kurgan, Architecture, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University and Director of the Center for Spatial Research

 

Convener, Laura Wexler, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies and American Studies, Yale University and Acting Co-chair of the Public Humanities Program