This spring, Upstream Public Health conducted a review of research and policies related to transportation health equity to identify effective policies and best practices to support health equity through the transportation system. With feedback from organizational partners working at the intersection of health, transportation, and equity, Upstream developed a set of Transportation Health Equity Principles.
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Photo courtesy APHA |
The principles are focused on reducing disparities for those impacted by transportation inequity. “People of color, people experiencing poverty, people with disabilities, and people who experience language barriers are disproportionately impacted by burdens of the transportation system but do not receive an equal share of the benefits.”
Upstream will use the principles below as a guide for policy development and advocacy.
1. Ensure equal access to essential goods & services, jobs & economic opportunities, and healthy foods & places.
We all rely on the transportation system every day to get from home to school, work and other destinations, but affected communities experience limited accessibility and mobility because of historical underinvestment and disinvestment. These unfair burdens negatively impact health through increased transportation costs, limited economic and educational opportunities, limited access to healthy goods and services, and limited housing options.
2. Engage & empower impacted communities early & often, with opportunities to have real influence during all stages of decision-making.
Meaningful public participation processes are open, inclusive, and provide participants with opportunities to shape transportation outcomes. Affected communities are often underrepresented or are not offered meaningful opportunities to participate. As a result, community disempowerment and projects with flawed outcomes negatively impact health.
3. Implement transportation funding & investment policies that address historical disinvestment for impacted persons & for underserved neighborhoods.
Funding for transportation investments must be equitably distributed and collected in order to promote health equity and to ensure that affected communities – especially low-income earners – have affordable transportation options. In addition, because transportation and housing costs make up the majority of a household’s budget, policies must integrate housing and transportation policy.
4. Promote access to jobs, including in the transportation sector.
Income affects health in many ways, and low-income and communities of color experience unemployment at higher rates than other communities. Transportation investments can be used to increase access to jobs in all industries for affected communities. Within the transportation system itself, leadership and employment opportunities for affected communities should be developed. These opportunities will support health through stable, family-wage incomes and increasing community capacity to address transportation issues.
5. Prioritize transportation investments that ensure healthy & safe communities.
Healthy communities need safe options for active modes of transportation that help reduce air pollution.However, the communities that we have identified as most affected are often disproportionately burdened with unsafe transportation environments and too few transportation options.
6. Adopt transportation policies that promote environmental justice & sustainability.
Affected communities disproportionately suffer from transportation-related air, water, and noise pollution, all of which can have significant negative impacts on health. These same communities will also experience unfair burdens from climate change. Reducing the burdens faced by these affected communities must be supported by efforts to promote stability and sustainability. This will ensure that these populations benefit from investments and do not experience the harmful effects of displacement.
The full document, which can be found here, includes two example policies or actions that support each principle. These examples provide an opportunity for adaptation of the principles to be an effective tool for different interest groups or campaigns.
Submitted by Heidi Guenin, Transportation Policy Coordinator, Upstream Public Health