Environmental Justice
What’s New?
- Our EJ Analysis was presented at the 2009 URISA Conference. (PDF, 8MB)
- The 2009 Environmental Justice Report has been endorsed. Download a copy today! (PDF, 11MB)
Introduction
Our Environmental Justice (EJ) initiative seeks to identify and mitigate the transportion burdens low-income and minority groups carry. It aims to direct spending into these communities, via our project prioritization process, as well as to plan for and help guide the implemention of community-based transportation projects.
As an agency, we are committed to incorporating Title VI in our planning process. Contracts with third-party firms, as well as our personnel manual, feature all federally-required non-discriminatory clauses and DBE assurances.
A Brief History
Our 2003 EJ report, available in .PDF format below, was our first attempt to consider social equity in the transportation sector. It came on the heels of a mandate from Washington, and provided the basis for more extensive study.
Senior riders wait for the number 10 in Wilmington
Going beyond the federal mandate four years later, our Accessibility and Mobility Report assessed the challenges faced by three other mobility-constrained populations: the elderly, the disabled, and zero-car households. Tackling the issues faced by these Transportation Justice (TJ) communities from a universal design perspective, the report argued that practical, cost-effective measures (improved access to bus stops, greater frequencies of fixed-route buses to and from key locations, and enhanced walkability) will work best to improve mobility and combat isolation.
A new EJ report, adopted in March 2009, revisited the issue of transportation equity in the Wilmington region. Returning to our low-income and minority groups, the 2009 EJ Report provides a fresh, comprehensive analysis of the burdens and inequities these communities face. It made practical recommendations to break infrastructural and policy barriers. The study also considered ways to improve the public participation of limited English proficient and low literate groups, spearheading sweeping changes to our Public Participation Plan. Key highlights of the 2009 EJ Report include:
Bill Swiatek gets some help from Latin American Community Center campers identifying pedestrian issues in Hilltop
- Identification of EJ areas
- Trends in project equity
- Transit analysis: accessibility of bus stops, supermarket and employment connectivity
- Non-motorized analysis: accessibility of pathways and bike routes, crash data summary, field survey with over 500 individual pedestrian recommendations
- Equity of newsletter distribution
- Identification of areas with limited English-speaking and low-literacy populations
Report Downloads
- 2009 Transportation Equity Report: An Environmental Justice Study of the WILMAPCO Region
- Executive Summary
- Full Report (11 MB) - 2007 Accessibility and Mobility Report: A Transportation Justice Study of the WILMAPCO Region
- Executive Summary
- Full Report (3 MB) - 2003 Environmental Justice Report: Transportation Equity Analysis for the WILMAPCO Region
- Full Report (2 MB)
Maps
Click on the links below to see which neighborhoods we have identified as having significant or moderate concentrations of EJ and TJ populations. As discussed in the reports above, these areas were identified through an analysis of census data.
Environmental Justice Neighborhoods (low-income and minority groups)
Transportation Justice Neighborhoods (elderly, disabled, and zero-car households)
Walkability Recommendations
A highlight of both the 2009 EJ Report and the 2007 TJ Report are their walkability sections. Fieldwork in EJ and TJ neighborhoods resulted in hundreds of recommendations to improve pedestrian accessibility.
EJ Initiatives
WILMAPCO consistently strives to better incorporate Environmental Justice into all aspects of our planning process. Perhaps most importantly is the strong incorporation of EJ and TJ into our project prioritization process. Transportation projects that fall within EJ and TJ areas receive points within our technical scoring system, with the hope to streamline many towards implementation.
Southbridge community members point out transportation problems
Our ongoing involvement with the Wilmington neighborhood of Southbridge exemplifies our commitment to EJ. Following the adoption of the South Wilmington Neighborhood Plan, we produced a Walkable Community Report and completed a Traffic Circulation Study to fully-develop the transportation goals of residents. Today, we are working with the community and other agencies to implement the recommendations in the neighborhood’s circulation study. Read more.
EJ Links
Follow some of the links below to learn more about Environmental Justice, or to see how this initiative is being addressed by other agencies and MPOs.
FHWA Overview of Transportation and Environmental Justice
EPA Environmental Justice Homepage
Center for Community Change: Transportation Equity
EJ Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University
Baltimore Region Environmental Justice Project
DVRPC Environmental Justice Homepage
San Francisco’s MTC Environmental Justice Report
Environmental Justice Scorecard
