Equity
Transportation equity requires understanding the unique needs and safety concerns of different populations and providing the appropriate amount of resources to each group. Historically, many low-income communities and underserved populations have been left out of conversations about transportation planning and this has led to unsafe conditions where pedestrians and bicyclists are over-represented in crashes. An equitable transportation system fosters fairness and helps facilitate access to opportunities for all community members.
Plans in Place
- Finding that 30% of its residents do not drive, in 2017 Charlotte, North Carolina adopted Charlotte WALKS, to address concerns over their pedestrian infrastructure. Improvements through this initiative include construction of back-of-curb sidewalks as redevelopment occurs, fixing the city code to require sidewalks in a broader range of developments, and providing more crossing opportunities on busy thoroughfares.
- A 2018 article by Mobility Lab explains how the City of Philadelphia built a bike-share program that started with equity first. The city surveyed its residents about their experiences with bikes and asked what they need from their local transportation and mobility options. The survey results gathered informed the placement of bike-share stations, established a discounted fare program, and trained people on using the bike-share system while ensuring community members have a seat at the table when planning, designing, and expanding the bike share system.
- In 2018, Citi Bike's discounted $5 monthly membership program was expanded to include Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients (initially, only New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents were eligible). When the expanded program was launched, 5,795 SNAP recipients and NYCHA residents bought a Citi Bike membership for the first time, a 257% increase in first-time members from the same period the previous year.
Mobility Justice
- A 2012 analysis from Bridging the Gap found that 90 percent of streets have sidewalks in high-income communities, compared to sidewalks on only 50 percent of streets in lower-income communities. Additionally, research showed that land-use laws and development regulations in lower- and middle-income communities are less likely to include requirements that would promote walking and biking.
- Dangerous street design disproportionately impacts people of color, older adults, and individuals walking in low-income communities. Smart Growth America's 2021 Dangerous by Design report found that Black people were hit and killed by drivers at an 82 percent higher rate than White, non-Hispanic Americans (over 2010-2019). American Indian and Alaskan Native people are killed by drivers at a 221% higher rate than White, non-Hispanic Americans.
- A 2017 Propublica/Florida Times-Union analysis over five years found that Black people received 55 percent of all pedestrian tickets, despite accounting for just 29 percent of the population. Moreover, residents in the city's poorest zip codes were six times as likely to receive a pedestrian citation as residents in the city's other zip codes.Â
- 32% of Latinos and 35% of African Americans reported that crime in their neighborhood makes it unsafe to walk compared to 17% of white Americans, according to a 2015 report from the Urban Land Institute. Similarly, 34% of Latinos and 35% of African Americans say that traffic makes it unsafe to walk where they live, as opposed to 21% of white Americans.
Gender Equity
- A 2019 analysis from Transport Findings of three of the largest public bike share programs in the U.S. found that women made up just 25% of all bike-share trips from 2014-2018.
- A 2021 study published in Sustainability found that women use the Paris VELIB's bike-sharing service much less than men as they are more concerned about accessibility (e.g., availability of bikes at the docking stations, distance to the nearest station, type and quality of the cycle paths); safety and security (e.g., perception of danger and insecurity while cycling and using the current bicycle infrastructure); social constraints (e.g., perceptions and cultural stigmatization associated with cycling and bike-sharing); and weather and topography (e.g., impact of weather and the urban terrain on cycling and bike-sharing).
- A 2017 analysis by researchers at Stanford found that men in the U.S. take 25% more steps compared to women. Additionally, higher walkability scores were associated with a smaller difference in walking between men and women, based on data from 69 U.S. cities. This demonstrates the importance of pedestrian infrastructure for closing the gender gap in active transportation.
Race and Social Mobility
- A 2017 study from the Journal of the American Planning Association found that disadvantaged groups (e.g., low-income and racial/ethnic minority) walked more in unsupportive built environments and walked less in supportive built environments. Because of this, members of advantaged groups gained twice the beneficial effects of walking and physical activity due to them walking in more supportive built environments.
- Commute time is the single strongest factor influencing the odds of escaping poverty according to a 2015 study from researchers at Harvard University. The relationship between transportation access and social mobility outweighs other factors often thought to affect social mobility in a community, including crime, school test scores, or the percentage of two-parent families in a neighborhood.
- Â A 2018 survey from Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center revealed that lower-income individuals and people of color were most likely to cite cost savings or discounted membership as reasons why they use bike share. Conversely higher-income and white users were more likely to cite the convenience of using bike share. Lower-income riders were also more likely to have heard about bike share from targeted outreach, rather than from friends or family. This indicates that equity outreach and discount programs are likely reaching people who would not otherwise join bike share.
- A 2019 study from the Journal of Transport Geography found that low-income and minority communities across the U.S. have disproportionately low access to bike lanes. After adjusting for indicators of cycling demand, access to bike lanes was lower in census block groups with lower educational attainment, higher proportions of Hispanic residents, lower composite socioeconomic status but not in those with higher proportions of black residents, lower-income, and higher poverty. These results suggest the importance of prioritizing social equity in bicycle planning and advocacy.
Age Equity
- In 2018, the San Jose State University's Mineta Transportation Institute researched specific streetscape improvements for the aging population. It included fixing sidewalk infrastructure and making repair requests more user-friendly for older adults, adding benches, street trees, removing non-operational sidewalk obstructions, and increasing traffic calming measures, particularly around neighborhoods with higher concentrations of older adults.
- According to data from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, older adults make up a disproportionate number of pedestrian deaths. Pedestrians age 65 and older accounted for 20% of all pedestrian deaths in 2017. Older individuals are more likely to have difficulties hearing, moving, or seeing and may be more vulnerable road users.
Tribal and Rural Equity
- A 2021 study from the University of Minnesota's Traffic Observatory focused on tribal and rural pedestrian activity, monitoring 10 crossings on four tribal reservations for 11 to 20 days. The research team documented activity at the crosswalk and at an opening in a nearby fence with over 98% of crossers using the opening in the fence and not the controlled intersection. The findings demonstrate a need for more data on rural and tribal pedestrian activity as well as investments in safety infrastructure.
- In a 2018 study published in The American Journal of Health Promotion, neighborhood-built environment features were shown to be a key factor in the high prevalence of obesity rates in rural areas compared to urban areas.
