Photo: Patricia Jekki\unsplash
to o l s
Transportation Equity in Action
Tools to support more equitable infrastructure development at the City of Toronto By Matthew Davis, City of Toronto
Equity issues have been a part of transportation
Indigenous, low-income, racialized, and new
infrastructure planning and development for decades.
immigrant persons being negatively impacted at a
Much of the transportation infrastructure that we use
disproportionate scale.
today was planned and built with little to no consideration of short and long-term equity impacts
There has been a recent awakening of sorts regarding
on the affected communities and environment.
equity in transportation infrastructure. Some may
Political influence further exacerbated the lack of
argue this awakening was sparked by the events
equity in transportation infrastructure, as funding for
following the death of George Floyd in the United
projects repeatedly went to areas with the most vocal
States, while others feel that equity has always been
and well-connected residents with access to levers of
an issue worth addressing in the transportation arena.
government. Over time, the combination of these
In either case, the term “transportation equity” has
factors resulted in a systemic void of equity
become a buzzword in the field of transportation
considerations in financial investment, project
planning and engineering as of late. Many have
planning and prioritization, and–ultimately–delivery of
struggled to define it, as transportation equity can
transportation infrastructure projects. In many
mean different things to different people depending
jurisdictions, this confluence of factors contributed to social inequities among various communities with
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SPRING 2022 | TRANSPORTATION TALK
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