Transportation Equity

Why It Matters

Addressing transportation equity is essential for achieving climate targets while repairing historic racial and economic harms, making inclusive infrastructure a prerequisite for sustainable growth.

Key Takeaways

• Transportation equity requires access to low‑carbon modes for all neighborhoods.
• Historic highway construction displaced minority and low‑income communities, eroding wealth.
• Federal policies now embed equity in grantmaking and Title VI guidance.
• Reconnecting Communities program funds projects to heal past infrastructure injustices.
• Ongoing dialogue needed to integrate equity into future decarbonization strategies.

Summary

The third webinar in the Salatada‑Evergreen series focused on transportation equity, featuring former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Fox, SMU professor Smith Colin, and former California deputy secretary Darwin Mousavi. Hosted by Harvard sociologist Jason Beckfield and Evergreen senior policy lead Leah Rectman, the session examined how low‑carbon transit must reach underserved neighborhoods.

Speakers traced the roots of inequity to mid‑20th‑century highway construction that sliced through minority and low‑income communities, displacing families and stripping generational wealth. Fox highlighted that roughly two‑thirds of those displaced were people of color, and that compensation was routinely undervalued, creating lasting scars in both urban and rural areas.

Fox described federal actions taken during his tenure, including embedding equity criteria in every discretionary grant, updating Title VI non‑discrimination guidance, and launching the bipartisan “Reconnecting Communities” initiative funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He also recounted his own childhood view of freeways looming over his Charlotte neighborhood as a personal illustration of the problem.

The discussion underscored that without equitable access, climate‑friendly transportation cannot achieve its emissions‑reduction goals. Policymakers are urged to prioritize community‑led planning, leverage new federal dollars to retrofit highways, and ensure that future decarbonization projects do not repeat historic injustices.

Original Description

Former US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx wrote that “Just as there has been redlining in housing, so does our physical infrastructure reveal a legacy of discrimination. It’s time to eliminate it.” Highways that divide communities, limited investment in transit and walking infrastructure, and barriers to community engagement still plague our transportation system. This year, Secretary Duffy and the Trump Administration have sought to eliminate projects that consider historically marginalized communities.

In this webinar, we discussed opportunities for equitable transportation in an increasingly adversarial federal landscape. Former Secretary Foxx provided opening reflections. Southern Methodist University Associate Professor Smith-Colin shared a new paper on “infrastructure injustice” and frameworks for considering justice. Finally, former California Transportation Deputy Secretary Darwin Moosavi shared challenges and opportunities for equitable transportation in California.