Advancing Transportation Equity

Past transportation plans have created “incomplete” streets that don’t provide safe places for people walking, biking, or taking public transportation. These streets are particularly dangerous for groups who suffer disproportionately from transportation-related illness, injury, and death, including:

people with disabilities
people of color
older adults
children
low-income communities

Dependence on driving a car can be a significant burden for lower-income communities. Car ownership is expensive, costing a roughly $9,500 per year, and should not be a requirement for getting around safely and efficiently. In the Twin Cities, a household with a median income spends 48.9% of its income on transportation and housing, compared to 75.3% for a low-income household. This reduces available funds for expenses like childcare, health care, and recreation.

Central to this disparity is a persistent racial wealth gap. Black, American Indian, Hispanic, and Hmong households have the highest poverty rates in Minnesota. Investing in a convenient and accessible multimodal transportation system is particularly important for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and in communities with high percentages of new immigrants. These groups may suffer disproportionately from streets that don’t provide safe options for walking, biking, or taking transit.