Equity
The Inequitable Toll of Pedestrian Deaths
A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control found that while 10.5 percent of all trips in the United States are made on foot, pedestrians made up 13 percent of all traffic fatalities between 2001 and 2010. During those years, a staggering 47,392 pedestrians were killed on American roadways. In 2010, the per capita pedestrian fatality rate in America was more than double the rate in the UK and Germany -- 13.9 deaths per million people compared to 6.7 and 5.8, respectively, according to figures compiled by the British government [XLS].
May 7, 2013
How to Diversify Bicycle Culture in Three Easy Steps
Everything you think you know about bicycling is wrong. At the National Women’s Bicycling Forum this morning, one message came through: the underrepresentation of women and people of color in cycling isn't simply due to safety concerns and lack of protected infrastructure, as is often surmised. It's more complicated than that.
March 4, 2013
Affordability as a Transportation Planning Objective
— This article originally appeared on Todd Litman’s blog at Planetizen, and was reprinted with permission of the author. What do transportation system users consider to be the most important problem? Here’s a hint: it’s not traffic congestion. The 2009 National Household Travel Survey asked respondents to rate the importance of six transport problems: traffic … Continued
February 28, 2013
International Funders Shift Investments Toward Sustainable Transportation
If you think the United States is doing a bad job shifting toward sustainable transportation, take a look at the developing world. The places with the most to lose from auto-oriented development are doubling down on it -- to the enormous detriment of their citizens, especially the poorest.
August 13, 2012
Voter ID Laws Marginalize People Without a Car
Sustainable transportation advocates may read news headlines about new voter ID laws, roll their eyes at the prejudices of red-state legislators, and turn the page -- at their own peril. This seemingly unrelated issue may have far-reaching consequences for transportation policy. New state laws mandating photo ID for voters threaten to disenfranchise nondrivers, and the skewed elections that would result could lead to political control by forces hostile to transit, cities, and even Safe Routes to Schools.
August 8, 2012
Transportation Investments and America’s Quality-of-Life Gap
For a while it didn't seem certain, but after a critical vote earlier this month, it looks like California's on track to build high-speed rail. And, I'll be the first to admit, California -- with two large, global metros just a few hundred miles apart -- is a great place for it.
July 20, 2012
Civil Rights Groups to Build Toward 2014 Transportation Bill Reauthorization
Wade Henderson is the President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national civil rights and human rights organizations.
July 5, 2012
Separate But Eco: Livable Communities for Whom?
Note: The authors are active advocates in the urban sustainability movement, focusing on non-motorized transportation in low-income urban areas. As mixed race women of color, we believe that we are in a unique position to bridge the advocacy communities trying to better conditions for the urban poor and for the environment. In this series, we draw on our experiences in the bicycle and environmental movements to shed light on the unfortunate divides we have noticed between urban sustainability communities and low-income communities of color.
May 22, 2012
New Equity Atlas Tells a Story About the Future of Denver (With Maps!)
As more cities look to revive or expand their transit networks in the face of rising gas prices and maddening congestion, planners have had to remain vigilant to ensure that underprivileged communities are not displaced or adversely affected by the same transit improvements that could offer them numerous benefits.
May 7, 2012
Brookings: Suburban-Style Zoning Linked to Educational Inequality
What do laws that mandate large yards and prevent walkable development have to do with educational opportunity? Turns out, there's an important connection.
April 27, 2012