A Microsoft App in the works called “Pedestrian Route Production,” that would provide the user walking directions around a city that avoid “unsafe neighborhood[s],”  has been deemed racist by an number of organizations, notably the NAACP of Dallas. Dallas NAACP President Juanita Wallace has pledged “I’m going to be up in arms about it if it happens,” comparing the app to “gerrymandering.” The app is patented, but is not yet available to the public. Microsoft refrains from commenting on already-patented applications.

The app would provide walking directions with large blue dots over areas in which ten or more criminal incidents have occurred over the past 12 months. I assume that this must be a very small area, limited to one or two particularly dangerous blocks, because Capitol Hill has had over 2,000 crimes last year, according to SPD crime records—which would mean one of Seattle’s most vibrant neighborhoods earns a big old blue dot.  For some, the implications of this app are irrefutable: avoid the ghetto, avoid “black and hispanic neighborhoods,” avoid low-income areas. For others, this particular feature fits logically within a GPS app that also helps pedestrians avoid impassable roads and dangerous weather conditions—remaining safe is as much avoiding violent crime as it is avoiding busy streets with no sidewalks, for example.

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