Equity. In relatively short order, the complex topic has become a red-hot area of interest for biking and walking advocates. Two new reports from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership provide data, context and recommendations to cultivate a more educated and engaged active transportation movement.
Released earlier this month, “At the Intersection of Active Transportation and Equity: Joining Forces to Make Communities Healthier and Fairer” and “Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks: How Safe Routes to School and Community Safety Initiatives can Reduce Crime and Violence” are deeply researched and written with input from local organizers and the Partnership’s National Active Transportation Diversity Task Force.
For Sara Zimmerman, the Partnership’s Technical Assistance Director and, along with Michelle Lieberman, lead author on both reports, the two new publications not only compile relevant research but ask advocates to think more critically about the intent and impact of their work — and the opportunity to widen their issue lens to be active allies for other movements.
“We wanted to pull together in one place all the different data and resources we rely on, so people could start to see the bigger picture,” she said of the reports’ goals. “We wanted to make the case to active transportation folks that equity matters — and make case to equity folks that active transportation matters. And we also wanted to take some of the issues where we did see some conflict but where opportunities were being overlooked — and explore those a little bit more.”
“At the Intersection…” is more than just a compendium and stats and definitions. It cites specific issue areas where biking and walking advocates have found themselves out of sync with the needs of low-income neighborhoods, communities of color and different types of street users. And it makes a clear case that areas like transit justice and gentrification aren’t areas to avoid, but critical movement intersections that we need to engage in more meaningful and respectful ways.
“Because many of the issues that transit justice advocates are working on overlap with equity issues in active transportation, and because transit and walking and bicycling are closely linked forms of transportation, there are great opportunities for collaborative efforts,” the report suggests.
“Active transportation advocacy may not be driving displacement – but street infrastructure investments are a factor in a larger struggle for control over neighborhoods,” the authors add. “For those working in the space of equity and active transportation, affordable housing and anti-displacement efforts are a core part of the work.
“This work [around quality education, affordable housing, residential diversity, and more] won’t be a distraction,” the report urges, “instead, it will bring new partners and collaborators who will, in turn, support core active transportation concerns.”
Another key theme is the need for active transportation advocates to examine the underpinnings of their work — to recognize that the perspectives that have shaped their priorities and campaigns have been relatively narrow — and be open to giving power and legitimacy to folks whose interests have not been the driving force for the movement’s progress thus far.
“In recent times, national active transportation organizations have shown increased attention to equity, with a new focus on health equity, the need for improved transportation in low-income communities, and the need for increased internal diversity and reform,” the report explains. “But this emerging trend comes after decades of bicycling and walking advocacy from a middle class lens – advocacy stemming from the real challenges related to limited safe options for enjoying bicycling and walking for recreation or as a transportation preference, but not from the experience of low-income communities walking and bicycling in unsafe conditions through pure necessity. One positive trend is the increased number and influence of bicycling and walking advocates of color. But struggles over direction, power, and priorities within the active transportation movement remain.”
“We felt there was some denial in the active transportation movement,” Zimmerman (pictured right) explained. “People felt like they’re trying to do something good for the community, something that brings health, mobility and all the benefits we know come from active transportation — and it’s hard for them to see the fact that there could also be negative consequences of those actions. Even if sometimes those negative consequences are more fears than reality, even those fears have a negative effect on the overall acceptance of active transportation. People in the active transportation movement need to step up and acknowledge that we don’t want to be pushing our agenda when it’s not a good fit with what the people on the ground really need, to look at what we can contribute while looking at the bigger picture.”
As the report advises: “Active transportation advocates need to embrace the larger goals of potential partners. Don’t ignore or dismiss fears around gentrification, school siting, and police brutality – take these concerns seriously, own them, and be part of the solution.”
And one of those areas is enforcement: “Police harassment appears to be more likely to affect people of color.Over 50 percent of African-American respondents said they or someone they know has experienced harassment or violence at the hands of the police, versus 26 percent of white respondents, 28 percent of Latino respondents, and 19 percent of Asian-American respondents. African-American youth report the highest rate of harassment by the police (54.4 percent), nearly twice the rates of other young people.”
“We were pleased we were able to address head-on some of the issues of racial profiling and police brutality,” Zimmerman explained. “These are issues that have been very much in the headlines but that communities of color have experienced and been aware of for a very long time. For middle-class, white individuals, though, many people are starting to understand these issues in a different way and react to them in a different way. But there hadn’t been a lot of understanding of how racial profiling affects biking and walking. There hasn’t been a lot of discussion about how the active transportation movement could really own those issues and actively protect people walking and biking, while following the lead of the people most affected — how making sure people are protected from police brutality can be one of our movement’s goals. We wanted to be explicit about that and look at those issues a little bit more.”
In “Taking Back the Streets and Sidewalks,” the Partnership delves even deeper into the issues of crime, reframing the traditional safety discussion to go beyond the threats of motor vehicles to cast a wider lens on the hazards many kids encounter on their way to school.
As the report points out: In the United States, children are more likely than adults to be exposed to violent crime, and youth are more than twice as likely as the general population to be victims of violent crimes. A 2009 survey found that 60 percent of children had been directly or indirectly exposed to violence within the past year.
“I still think there’s some complexity around how to convey [the safety issues],” Zimmerman said. “The perspective that many have in not wanting to scare people away from walking and biking and Safe Routes to School has a lot of validity. The crime stats have gotten better, but there are also some very complicated, different social trends. Absolutely one of the messages that comes out here is that we need to acknowledge that violence and crime are a big issue for kids — sometimes in life threatening ways or in scary or bothersome ways. Crime and violence are certainly affecting kids’ psychological health, and addressing those challenges is really important.”
And, whether it’s through the eyes on the street provided by walking school buses or safe passage programs, Safe Routes to School can play a role in reducing those threats. “By creating stronger, more resilient, more vibrant communities, we address the root causes of community safety issues,” the report explains. “Community building strategies address the risk and resilience factors that influence the likelihood of community violence, getting to the roots of violence and crime… Social cohesion within a neighborhood, combined with residents’ willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, accounts for more than 70 percent of the variation between neighborhoods in levels of violence.”
“Honestly, I didn’t really understand that our communities are capable of preventing violence, but there are so many success stories,” Zimmerman said. “The bigger picture of violence prevention is really, ‘Why do we still have communities fraught with violence? Why are we not doing the things we know work?’ We, as a society, haven’t invested in the things that we know work. So when we’re trying to figure out, ‘What can we do within the active transportation movement?’ we obviously can’t muster the amount of financial or other resources to do this on our own, but we can be a significant contributor. A particularly big lesson was really around partnerships. We can’t solve the deep problems of racism and huge challenges low-income people face by ourselves. Nobody can. But we can contribute and help create solutions that are more than the sum of their parts.”
To do that, we need more than good intentions. We also have to be diligent and honest about the outcomes, too. “Stakeholders must return repeatedly to their goal to see whether the intervention is having the desired result,” the report urges. “And we need to make sure that we do not focus on those measures that indicate success and improvement, while ignoring data that shows negative consequences on other axes of community experience.”
“What really came out for me is that you can’t shy away from working on issues of race or issues where you don’t have strong comfort level or expertise because you’re concerned you’ll do or say something wrong,” Zimmerman said. “Don’t let the fact that things are complicated make you shy away from them. Educate yourself as much as you can upfront, give it a shot and see how it’s going. If it’s not working, do it differently.”
Both reports are available on the Partnership’s Resources page. Delve even deeper into this vital conversation tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21, at 1 p.m. Eastern during a free webinar on “Active Transportation and Equity: Key Challenges and Opportunities from the Field.” Register here!
