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The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) believes that an equitable transportation system
- prioritizes the needs of marginalized communities, and
- eliminates the barriers to access and harmful transportation impacts experienced by these communities.
The MPO’s Transportation Equity Program advances the transportation equity goal developed as part of the MPO’s Long-Range Transportation Plan:
Ensure that all people receive comparable benefits from, and are not disproportionately burdened by, MPO investments, regardless of race, color, national origin, age, income, ability, or sex.
Recent Work
Identifying Transportation Inequities in the Boston Region: Completed in 2022, this study analyzed a set of metrics that measure existing transportation inequities in the Boston region, focusing on destination access and transportation cost. The analyses measured inequities that exist for minority populations, low-income populations, and zero-vehicle households. See the following for more on the findings:
- An Exploration of Destination Access and Transportation Cost Analyses (PDF) An Exploration of Destination Access and Transportation Cost Analyses (HTML) An Exploration of Destination Access and Transportation Cost Analyses (appendices): Developing Baseline Transportation Equity Metrics for the Boston Region: Read about the study process and high-level analysis results in this report.
- Online Application: Explore the analysis results in this application.
- GitHub Data Repository: Explore and download the data and methodology in this free site.
Equity and Access to Blue Hills: Completed in 2022, this StoryMap shows how we analyzed public transit access to the Blue Hills for environmental justice populations and households without access to cars in the Boston communities of Mattapan, Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Roxbury. The study, led by an advisory group and supported by MPO staff, resulted in several proposals for improving public transit access to the Blue Hills from those communities.
Equity Approach
The MPO takes an “equity in all policies” (EiAP) approach to achieving its equity goal. EiAP is based on the “health in all policies" approach from the field of public health. EiAP means that equity is a part of every policy, process, and decision at the MPO. This approach is strategic and inclusive. At every step in the decision-making process, MPO staff engage the region’s most vulnerable populations to develop and implement strategies for advancing equity.
Equity in All Policies
Explore MPO plans and programs to learn how they advance transportation equity.
Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP): The MPO’s long-range planning document, Destination 2040, provides a vision and goals for the region, and sets the MPO’s priorities. View these chapters for more information about equity in the LRTP:
- Transportation Equity Performance chapter for Destination 2040 (including results of the Disparate Impact and Disproportionate Burden [DI/DB] analysis)
- Transportation Equity Needs chapter of the Destination 2040 Needs Assessment
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): The MPO’s capital planning document records which projects will be funded in the region over the next five years. View these equity analyses in the TIP:
- Equity analysis of project impacts, in the aggregate, funded in the most recent TIP
- Equity scoring criteria in the project selection process
- Results of the most recent project evaluation process (spring 2021)
Public Engagement Program: The MPO strives to build a diverse coalition of partnerships throughout the region and to elevate underserved and underrepresented voices in the decision-making process. These plans guide the MPO’s outreach efforts:
- The Language Assistance Plan describes how the MPO provides appropriate language assistance to enable people with limited English proficiency to meaningfully participate in MPO activities.
- The Public Engagement Plan describes the MPO’s approach to conducting inclusive public engagement.
Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan (CPT-HST): Updated every four years, this plan documents the transportation needs of people with disabilities and older adults in the region. To receive Massachusetts Department of Transportation Community Transit Grant funding, projects must meet a need identified in the CPT-HST for the relevant MPO region. Check to see if your municipality is in the Boston Region MPO area.
Focus Areas
MPO staff have identified several critical focus areas for advancing transportation equity. Achieving true transportation equity requires action beyond the traditional boundaries of transportation planning. MPO staff collaborate with professionals in the fields of housing, education, public health, economic development, environmental science, and other disciplines to advance shared equity goals. Some collaborative outcomes include the following:
- Baseline Equity Indicator Metrics: Following the study Identifying Transportation Inequities in the Boston Region, the MPO is continuing and expanding this work through the Transportation Equity Program. To see the results for the MPO’s initial exploration of baseline indicator metrics, visit the Identifying Transportation Inequities study’s online application.
- DI/DB Policy: This policy prevents potential unintentional discrimination when the MPO makes decisions about funding projects in the LRTP, in the aggregate.
- Moving Toward Equity: Engaging the public to prevent discrimination (StoryMap) (April 2021)
- Final DI/DB Policy (November 2020)
- Disparate Impact Metrics Study memo (November 2020)
- Development of the DI/DB Policy: Phase 1 memo (November 2019)
- Results of the DI/DB analysis for the 2019 LRTP (July 2019)
- Interim Draft DI/DB Policy used in the 2019 LRTP (May 2019)
- Health Impacts Analyses: These analyses assess the health impacts of MPO investments. Staff continue to develop health-related metrics for use in MPO work, including the LRTP Needs Assessment and the Baseline Equity Indicator Metrics project described above.
Resources
MPO staff have developed several online tools that explore equity in the region:
Ways to learn more or get involved:
- Learn about your rights under the MPO’s Civil Rights program.
- Request language or accessibility support: civilrights@ctps.org.
- Invite us over to talk about how we can support transportation improvements in your community.
Contact
Betsy Harvey, MPO staff
857.702.3701
eharvey@ctps.org