Courtney Crosson and UA architecture students facilitate a mapping activity to identify current flooding challenges at a neighborhood meeting.

The Potential of Green Infrastructure in Mitigating Flood Impacts on the Mobility of Low Income and Minority Neighborhoods

Sep 02, 2020
Photo by Eugene Lee
Courtney Crosson, University of Arizona

Short-term flooding from extreme storm events poses a serious transportation challenge in U.S. cities. This problem—which is anticipated to grow over the next century with our global climate crisis—is often hardest on vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority neighborhoods. The latest report from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), led by Courtney Crosson of University of Arizona (UA), advances national research methods for assessing flood vulnerability and prioritizing transportation improvement investments to ensure that no community is left stranded when the next flood occurs.

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View of North MLK Boulevard in Portland, Oregon with a pedestrian crossing near a mural.

The Impacts of Gentrification on Transportation and Social Support for Black Working-Poor Families in Portland, Oregon

Aug 18, 2020
MLK Boulevard in Portland, OR. Photo by Cait McCusker
Steven Howland, Portland State University

The historically Black district of Albina in Portland, Oregon, due to racist real estate practices, faced multiple displacement events between 1960 and 1990 with the construction of Interstate 5 through the heart of the neighborhood as well as wholesale destruction of hundreds of homes to make room for the Memorial Coliseum and various other urban renewal projects. Gentrification in Portland saw a mass displacement of Black households from Albina, largely to East Portland, a suburban area that was unincorporated...

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Paper Bike Share Equity Briefs Arranged on a Table

Portland State University Releases Nationwide Guidance on Bike Share Equity Programs

Jul 23, 2020
John MacArthur, Nathan McNeil and Joseph Broach, Portland State University

Last year, Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) released a 130 page evaluation comparing equity-oriented programs from over 70 U.S. bike share systems across the U.S. Bike share being a relative newcomer to the transportation system, the research team was not surprised to find that approaches to equity programs ranged widely. In the latest installment, funded by the Better...

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The Hidden Costs of Removing the Option to Pay for Transit With Cash?

Apr 15, 2020

Image by Luije/iStock

Authored by Aaron Golub Director and Associate Professor, Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. Join Aaron and John MacArthur on May 22nd for a PSU Friday Transportation Seminar sharing early results from the research presented here.

With many transit agencies across the country1 eliminating cash handling at ticket counters and on-board vehicles for obvious health and virus transmission reasons, one may wonder: who will be negatively impacted by this? 

Some riders can still use cash at ticket vending machines or at certain retail outlets, but for many, depending on where they live and which parts of the transit system they ride, this will be inconvenient. National data2 show clear disparities3 in access to alternatives to cash (credit and debit accounts) as well as the other tools needed to pay for things electronically (smartphones, cell data plans and internet at home and work). What these national data don't capture are the specific issues...

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Pedestrians walk along a four-lane road with no sidewalk in Texas.

When Growth Outpaces Infrastructure: Access to Opportunities in Suburban Boomtowns

Feb 05, 2020
Image: Google Streetview (US-380 in McKinney, Texas; Dec 2018)
Jandel Crutchfield, Courtney Cronley and Kate Hyun, University of Texas at Arlington

In the last twenty years, the population increased over 100% in Collin County...

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An older woman helps an older man out of a car into a wheelchair

Visiting Loved Ones In Nursing Homes: Transportation Access and Barriers

Oct 10, 2019
Photo by kali9
Vivian J. Miller, University of Texas at Arlington

Older adults who live in nursing homes are at an increased risk for depression and anxiety, and research has shown that social...

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A light rail train on tracks

Benchmarking Social Equity in Transit Performance: Economic Justice in Practice

Sep 11, 2019
Photo by jferrer

Torrey Lyons, University of Utah

Transit agencies often focus on ridership as a primary measure of performance: If enough people are riding transit, then the system is a success. But who are those riders, and why is volume the benchmark?

This viewpoint can skip over an important aspect of a transit agency’s function; that is, providing opportunity to...

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Three people stand waiting for a train

Advancing Transportation Equity through Inclusive Travel Survey Data Methods

Sep 11, 2019
Photo by santypan

Amy Lubitow and Julius McGee, Portland State University;  Raoul Liévanos, University of Oregon

What is the quality of travel data for underrepresented, marginalized populations? The issues go deeper than creating slicker algorithms: In a world with...

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Portland State University Releases Evaluation Of Bike Share Equity Programs

Jul 25, 2019
Photo credit: Ian Sane
John MacArthur and Nathan McNeil, Portland State University

This article was authored by Stefani Cox of the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), and cross-posted from BBSP News.

This week, Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) releases a new research report comparing equity-oriented programs across several U.S. bike share systems. The research finds a variety of methods in place, ranging from affordability to internal hiring practices and beyond. The report is assisted by Toole Design...

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Researchers at TRB

Developing Tools for Social Workers, Engineers, and Planners to Address Mobility Gaps Collaboratively

Apr 04, 2019
Principal Investigator: Noelle Fields, University of Texas, Arlington
Learn more about this research by viewing the Executive Summary and the full Final Report on the Project Overview page, or watching a recording of the February 2018 webinar.

The latest NITC report explores strengthening collaboration between disciplines, to build a transportation system that better serves everyone.

Transportation planners and engineers often struggle to serve at-risk communities and environmental justice (EJ) populations. EJ populations can include older adults, people with low income, low socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities—all groups who are at an increased risk for transportation disadvantage. Evidence of these struggles manifest as unequal transportation system outcomes related to access and opportunity.

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