Equity is a central component of our work at the Safe Routes Partnership. Who gets to move?, Where?, When?, and How? are questions about power and access. Who makes these decisions and for whom? Historical legacies and sustained realities of structural discrimination (based on race, class, gender, sexuality, immigration status, etc.) have created inequality of roles and participation in transportation planning decisions, which has, in turn, disparately impacted transportation options and access for different populations. Because transportation facilitates access to opportunities (educational, social, recreational, professional, etc.) and participation in the public sphere, limited transportation opportunities compound existing disparities in education, employment, political engagement, health, and safety.

Within the field of transportation research, equity has largely been omitted from academic scholarship and insufficiently applied in practice (Lee et al., 2017). Fortunately, equity is increasingly gaining traction among policymakers and practitioners in the transportation world especially as more people realize that a greater modal shift to active, sustainable transportation simply cannot occur without an equity perspective (McAndrews et al., 2017; McNeil et al., 2017; Lusk et al., 2017).

This section highlights research that demonstrates the need for and value of an equity perspective in Safe Routes to School and active transportation overall. We’ve pulled out available research in this Equity category to make it easily accessible and encourage further research into the equity implications. These research summaries are cross-posted in relevant research sections, since equity is not an add-on, but a core component of Safe Routes to School and active transportation.

Research Highlights:

  • Low-income Americans currently walk and bike more than Americans with higher incomes, and the fastest growth in biking is occurring among people of color (McKenzie, 2014 and League of American Bicyclists 2013). However, sidewalks exist in only 49% of low-income communities, compared to 90% in high-income communities (Gibbs, et a.l, 2012).
  • There are harmful, and even fatal consequences of insufficient infrastructure for safe walking and biking:
    • Children from families with low income, who are twice as likely to walk to school, disproportionately face more traffic and personal safety challenges while en route to/from school (McDonald, 2008).
    • Black and Latino people are twice as likely to be killed while walking (Maciag, 2014).
    • Black people are 30% more likely to be killed biking, and Latino people are 23% more likely to be killed biking (League of American Bicyclists, 2013).
    • Fear is a big barrier to bicycling for Blacks and Hispanics. While most people are afraid of traffic danger while bicycling, Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately worried about being victims of crime (i.e., robbery and assault) while biking, as well as racial profiling and police harassment. Transportation professionals must consider how broader structural inequalities like racism can hinder active modes of transportation for people of color (Brown, 2016).
    • While most bike share users tend to be white and middle-class, there is high interest and demand for bike share from underrepresented groups, such as people of color and people with low income). A majority of people with low income would like to use bike share more and low-income people of color are more inclined to try bike share for exercise, recreational, and social reasons (McNeil et al., 2017).
    • Black women have higher risks of nonfatal injury than women of other racial groups when traveling by foot or by car. More alarmingly, black women are the only demographic group with a higher risk of fatal injury as pedestrians than as motor vehicle occupants (McAndrews et al., 2017).
    • A ground-breaking study of near misses in the United Kingdom has revealed that bicycling speed is the main factor affecting near miss rates (incidents that don’t result in injuries but still are scary, annoying, and/or stressful). Women, who tend to bike more slowly than men do, experience higher rates of near misses than men, which can factor into and perpetuate the gender gap in bicycling. This underscores the importance of quality, safe bicycling infrastructure, particularly for more vulnerable groups (Aldred, 2016).
    • There are racial differences in bicycle infrastructure preferences and bicycling practices planners and engineers must keep in mind to increase equity in bicycling. For example, compared with white people, more Black and Hispanic people would bike more if they could bike with family and friends. This suggests that creating wider bike lanes that enable people to ride alongside each other, rather than in single file, may help increase cycling among people of color (Lusk et al., 2017).

 

Research
Walking (and cycling) to well-being: Modal and other determinants of subjective well-being during the commute

Key takeaway:

  • People with active commutes experienced better health, confidence, and positive affect. Cycling commuters experienced less security and more distress and fear than walking commuters. 
read more >
Research
Accessibility evaluations for nighttime walking and bicycling for low-income shift workers

Key takeaway:

  • This research fills a gap in transportation research by developing a methodology to guide practitioners and planners in evaluating the nighttime accessibility of transit stops and areas around transit stops for pedestrian and bicyclists.
read more >
Research
Shadow mobilities: regulating migrant bicyclists in Ontario, Canada

Key takeaway:

  • Bicycling is an essential, yet inadequate mode of transportation for migrant farmworkers in rural Ontario. Migrant farmworkers are offered bike safety education, but it unfairly regulates their bicycling conduct rather than unsafe bicycling road conditions. 
read more >
Research
Social inequalities in child pedestrian traffic injuries: Differences in neighborhood built environments near schools in Austin, TX, USA

Key takeaway:

  • Barriers to children’s pedestrian safety include longer block lengths, missing sidewalks, crosswalk density, and commercial land uses around schools.
read more >
Research
Linking Transportation and Population Health to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Transportation Injury: Implications for Policy and Practice

Globally, people with lower incomes and people of color are disproportionately at risk of being injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes, especially as pedestrians.

read more >
Research
Understanding the Role of Equity in Active Transport Planning in the United States

Equity in active transportation is under-researched within academic scholarship and inconsistently applied in practice, but that is changing as it gains more salience in research and practice.

read more >
Research
Biking Practices and Preferences in a Lower Income, Primarily Minority Neighborhood: Learning What Residents Want

Key takeaway: A new survey of residents in Roxbury, a lower income, minority neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts found that despite a shared preference for protected bike lanes across racial groups, there are racial variations in bicycling practices and behavior that can better inform bicycle infrastructure design.

read more >
Research
Breaking Barriers to Bike Share: Insights on Equity

This research project aims to better understand perceptions and attitudes towards bicycling and bike share, as well as the barriers and opportunities for expanding bike share usage in traditionally underserved neighborhoods, particularly in low-income neighborhoods or neighborhoods with residents who are predominantly people of color.

read more >
Research
Bicycle Facilities That Address Safety, Crime, and Economic Development: Perceptions from Morelia, Mexico

Key takeaways:

  • This is the first study to show that people in a developing nation (Mexico) perceive cycle tracks (protected, segregated bicycle lanes) to be the safest type of bicycle infrastructure. Cycle tracks could improve safety, reduce crime, and stimulate the local economy.
read more >
Research
Neighbourhood socioeconomic and transport disadvantage: The potential to reduce social inequities in health through transport

Key takeaway:

  • The researchers examined neighborhood socioeconomic and transport disadvantage in Brisbane, Australia and found that disadvantaged neighbourhoods had greater connectivity and transit access, but also more exposure to traffic and associated health risks.
read more >