Problem

Low-income minorities based in urban centers are disproportionately dependent on public transportation. According to the Civil Rights Project at Harvard & Center for Community Change, Black and LatinX Americans comprise 54% of public transportation users in urban areas, and 83% of all public transportation users have incomes less than $50,000 (with the majority between $15-$50K). Low-income families tend to spend more of their household income on public transportation, sometimes up to 36%.

Structural racism in transportation persists in three main stages: (1) planning and funding, (2) construction, and (3) maintenance. States spend more resources on developing suburban highways for car owners than public transportation systems. Many of these highways are constructed through or next to low-income, minority communities, who are left to deal with subsequent pollution, gentrification, and displacement.

Key Terms

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Solutions

1. Empowering Mobility Through Inclusive Urban Planning

Transportation policies that prioritize affluent, suburban communities have also pushed entry-level and low-skill job opportunities to city fringes, making them inaccessible to most inner-city residents.

Existing Solutions

Remix is a data-driven platform that allows transportation consultants and urban planners to design inclusive transportation systems — from public transit to safer streets to ever-increasing new modes of mobility — for their communities, and for the planet.
Numina measures all kinds of curb-level activity to help urban planners, mobility companies, and developers use urban spaces most efficiently
Streetlight Data transforms big data into accurate, comprehensive, and precise transportation analytics for companies and governments while protecting individual privacy.

What needs to be done?

<aside> 💡 Data collection that protects privacy: To avoid a “Big Brother” effect, companies should innovate on anonymous ways of collecting data, such as Numina. Numina’s smart sensors, which can be mounted on light poles, can capture complex movements between types of automobiles, pedestrians, buses, cyclists. And it does it all anonymously, providing cities with unprecedented data granularity to help transform urban environments into more walkable, bikeable, and equitable spaces — without compromising anyone’s privacy.

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2. Alternative Transit Solutions

Diversifying public transportation options and lowering costs can increase economic and educational opportunities for those who are dependent on public transit to go to work, attend school, seek healthy foods, engage in the culture and arts, etc.