Equity

Perhaps the most powerful thing Butler did during her tenure was to consistently give of herself to create space for others on the margins in a field where there is currently precious little.

A new survey conducted in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood shows that while people across different racial groups like protected bike lanes, there are variations in preferences that should inform design.

He canceled the Red Line, which would serve predominantly black Baltimore neighborhoods, but not the Purple Line, which will serve a whiter, more affluent population but is not demonstrably more cost-effective.

With renewed public attention on the excessive criminalization of poor people and people of color, some transit agencies and law enforcement officials are reevaluating their fare evasion policies.

Racist fears hobbled transit in Atlanta two generations ago. Is the region finally learning from its mistakes?

The more far-flung the jobs in a region, the fewer are accessible via transit, biking, and walking -- or even a short, inexpensive car commute. And yet, in many states, economic development policies still contribute to long, burdensome commutes, especially for people who can't afford cars.

What's the cost of a long commute? If you're struggling to make ends meet, spending hours each day just to get to work can not only cost you time, it can also be a major barrier to economic mobility.

With their powerful results, the studies coming out of the Equality of Opportunity Project, led by Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren, have become an important touchstone for journalists and transportation policy advisers. In their 2014 [PDF] and 2015 [PDF] studies, Chetty and Hendren show that place matters for low-income families. When low-income families have the opportunity to raise their children in better environments, their children do better as adults. And with their use of “big data,” Chetty and Hendren can show that these better environments are not just correlated with improved incomes, but actually cause them.

Not many planners get an opportunity to influence their city in the way Atlanta's Ryan Gravel has.