Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

2007

Subject Area

Location - USA

Abstract

Equity and environmental justice issues have again become prominent topics of debate in transportation planning and research in the last 10 years. Advocates for environmental justice (EJ), have made themselves highly visable. In this chapter, a theoretical and legal framework for the consideration of equity and EJ in transportation planning and decision making is presented. The theoretical underpinnings of EJ are set forth, drawing upon theories of justice for the disadvantaged and theories on the rights of members of the public to participate in governmental decisions. Then the development of EJ as a political movement in the US is reviewed - with roots in civil rights law, protests and hazardous waste sites and urban freeways and advocacy planning - and the parallel development of EJ as a legal and regulatory mandate is summarised. Following this is a discussion of how research, planning practice and community activism have drawn upon one another in addressing EJ issues. Drawing upon the author's work with EJ in the San Francisco Bay Area, the author shows that the agendas of low income and minority communities are substantially different from those in the non-minority population, and these differences raise important questions about the responsiveness of current transportation programs and decision processes to EJ communities. Finally, it is shown that EJ mandates and movements require the development of improved analytic and evaluation methods and a different approach to public involvement. It concludes with a preliminary list of research needs, including research into procedures, methods and outcomes, as well as a brief discussion of the applicability of the findings to other developed and developing countries.