Equity

The more far-flung the jobs in a region, the fewer are accessible via transit, biking, and walking -- or even a short, inexpensive car commute. And yet, in many states, economic development policies still contribute to long, burdensome commutes, especially for people who can't afford cars.

What's the cost of a long commute? If you're struggling to make ends meet, spending hours each day just to get to work can not only cost you time, it can also be a major barrier to economic mobility.

With their powerful results, the studies coming out of the Equality of Opportunity Project, led by Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren, have become an important touchstone for journalists and transportation policy advisers. In their 2014 [PDF] and 2015 [PDF] studies, Chetty and Hendren show that place matters for low-income families. When low-income families have the opportunity to raise their children in better environments, their children do better as adults. And with their use of “big data,” Chetty and Hendren can show that these better environments are not just correlated with improved incomes, but actually cause them.

Not many planners get an opportunity to influence their city in the way Atlanta's Ryan Gravel has.

Tragedy struck El Paso again on September 22, when 27-year-old Susanna Lozano, driving her F-150 pickup truck, struck and killed 53-year-old Eduardo Dill as he attempted to cross a neighborhood street in his electric wheelchair.

The Token One He was so glad I had "talked about people of color committing violence against other people of color," he gushed, shaking my hand.

Do the people who make transportation funding decisions in your region represent the people who actually live in your region?

Car-share and bike-share services are making it easier to go without owning a car in American cities, but access to "shared-use" systems remains limited in communities of color compared to majority-white neighborhoods, according to a new analysis from the Shared Use Mobility Center [PDF].