What is Equitable Active Transportation?
Centering equity is a critical component of ensuring safe and accessible transportation in all communities and for people of all ages, abilities, and incomes, no matter how they travel, whether that is by car, walking, biking, rolling or taking public transportation (California Office of Traffic Safety).
New graphic from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation illustrates visually the difference between equality and equity (RWJF, 2022)
Advancing equitable active transportation safety also means acknowledging and addressing the historical racism, and inequitable policies and practices that have resulted in the unfair distribution of harms and benefits to vulnerable communities including people of color, people with disabilities, seniors, and people living in underserved and low income areas. This includes practices such as redlining, historical disinvestment, inequitable roadway design, a lack of safe and accessible pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and limited or unsafe transportation options.
To achieve a transportation system that is safe, equitable and accessible for all people, the Safe System Approach has been widely adopted at the national, state, and local level, with equity a central component. At SafeTREC, we integrate equity into all layers of protection within the Safe System Approach as a way to work towards addressing historical disinvestment and institutional biases
New Resource: Equitable Active Transportation webpage
The California Active Transportation Safety Information Pages (CATSIP) acts as an online resource for improving pedestrian and bicycle safety in California. In order to do this work, we present the latest and most useful online resources to encourage and promote safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized road users in California.
The newest addition to CATSIP is our Equitable Active Transportation webpage, which features resources on how transportation safety professionals, planners, advocates, community members, and others alike can create more equitable, walkable, and bikeable communities. Resources are organized by three topic areas: Funding for Accessible, Equitable Active Transportation; Equitable Community Engagement and Outreach; and Accessible Infrastructure.
Explore the links below for resources to help promote safe and equitable active transportation projects in your community:
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Funding for Accessible, Equitable Active Transportation - Key funding opportunities that recognize how redlining and disinvestment in certain communities has led to lack of safe infrastructure and less access to public transportation options.
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Equitable Community Engagement and Outreach - Guides and toolkits that provide guidance on how to conduct outreach and engagement for bike and pedestrian projects that are accessible, equitable and community-centered.
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Accessible Infrastructure - A page that acts as a starting point for those interested in learning how to create projects that serve people of all ages and abilities.
Our Equitable Active Transportation page is continuously being updated as more studies, reports, and other materials are created. Do you know of a resource we can add to the list? Please let us know at safetrec@berkeley.edu