Equity

A new ballot question initiative in Maryland aims to give Baltimore voters a say in the creation of a city-specific transit agency — which could be a crucial tool in the fight for transportation equity in Charm City, advocates argue. For nearly half a century, Baltimore has been one of the largest cities in America lacking a regional transit authority. Most if, not all, of the city’s public transit is administered by a sole governing body, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). The MTA oversees the State’s network of buses, subway, commuter trains, and light rail.

Our racial-equity lens must foster real policies that can be regularly evaluated and measured.

Two white homeowners threatened the lives of Black Lives Mater protesters in on a private street in St. Louis on Sunday, raising new questions about anti-Black racism in pseudo-public space.

For years local transportation reform activists have pushed City of Portland to go beyond car storage and driving and think more creatively about what we can do with our streets. And when calls for new uses of street space were made, it was often restaurant owners who lined up to say their business would perish without maximum access for car users.

We should be redesigning our transportation system to reduce the chances of Black and Brown residents interacting with law enforcement, and to promote transportation equity.

Planners and urbanists, it’s time to reckon with the racism rampant in city building. Here are four actions to take.

47th Ward alderman Matt Martin hosted a panel on these topics with reps from the Active Transportation Alliance, the Metropolitan Planning Council, and Streetsblog Chicago.

What does #defundthepolice really mean for road safety — in the broadest sense of that term?

Driverless cars are worse at detecting darker skin pigments, meaning that autonomous vehicles might not solve the already disproportionate pedestrian death toll faced by black communities, according to a new study.