2024-2025 Group 2 - 2nd Place Essay by Solika Mau

Before the 1950s, most Americans lived in people-centric cities featuring walkable streets and dense urban planning that fostered community. However, as cars began to trickle into America throughout the early 20th century, Americans slowly transitioned away from public transportation towards private vehicles. Since car materials were needed for war efforts, public transportation use increased during World War II, but after the war ended, “Americans resumed their love affair with cars, and transit ridership again saw a steep decline” (Fetherston). With a powerful postwar economy and new interstate highway production, many white residents—with their new vehicles—left dense cities for suburbs, and employers followed suit.

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, much of American land was suburbanized and turned into a car-centric, urban sprawl (Fister). According to The Yale Ledger, “Urban sprawl is a form of unplanned urban and suburban development” which creates large, low-density areas that are built around the use of private vehicles rather than public transportation, biking, or walking (“Urban Sprawl”). Today, the advancement of sustainable transit is hindered by 69% of Americans living in suburban areas which perpetuates the need for private vehicles (Anderson).

Adopting Sustainable Transit in Low-Income, Minority, and Communities with Disabilities

Minority and Low-Income Communities

Racial residential segregation, “the spatial separation of two or more social groups within a specified geographic area”, played a significant role in the development of suburban neighborhoods, and its negative effects create sustainable transit disparities (Timberlake and Ignatov; Menendian). In the 1950s, urban areas were associated with “Black”, and suburban areas were associated with “white”, so the flock of white people moving to the suburbs was heavily influenced by racism, and jobs following suit catered to employing white Americans.

Many minorities continue to live in urban cities and cannot afford private vehicles to commute longer distances to jobs in the suburbs. Public transportation is meant to help minority communities in dense cities, however, these minorities who are dependent riders are left with infrequent and unreliable systems to make room for white, choice riders who receive reliable and safe public transportation (Spieler). Through residential segregation, the neighborhoods of minority communities have worse air quality, are less maintained, and have fewer crosswalks or bike lanes to allow for alternative transportation options (“Ethnic and Racial Minorities”).

Transportation is unaffordable for many individuals, hitting low-income households the hardest, where 30% of their after-tax income is spent on transportation, while the average American household spends 16% (“The High Cost of Transportation”). Personal vehicles are costly to maintain, and attempting to use public transportation in car-centric cities “steal your time and money, prevent you from taking some jobs, and make it harder to move up the economic ladder” (Stromberg). Low-income individuals who must rely on underfunded public transportation deal with late transit, buses not arriving, and unpredictable schedules. The large barriers that plague low-income and minority communities prevent growth in eco-friendly transit at no fault of the community members themselves.

Communities with Disabilities

According to the CDC, 14.4% of people with disabilities lack reliable transportation, compared to 4.9% for non-disabled (Ng). For many with disabilities, driving a car is not plausible, so they must rely on public transportation or other forms of transit. Although all public transportation services must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), gaps are still found and public transit infrequently audibly announces stops, accessibility lifts are seldom checked and maintained, and bus drivers and train operators do not have training for assisting those with disabilities (“Equity in Transportation”). Alternative transit like bicycles and scooters rarely have accessibility options, while the few that cater to people with disabilities are expensive and inaccessible to low-income individuals. Adults with disabilities find that there are seldom walkable sidewalks and encounter more barriers like traffic or crime than those walking without disabilities, further preventing eco-friendly travel (“Physical Activity”).

Equity of Electric Vehicles

Although electric vehicles are extremely sustainable, they are a luxury choice for most people. On average, electric vehicles have a higher upfront cost, generally $10,000 to $15,000 more than their traditional gas counterparts (O’Dell). Although the yearly fuel cost is much less, averaging $485 for electric versus $1,117 for gas, many Americans cannot afford to pay the initial cost (Lindwall). Low-income and marginalized communities often suffer from being “charging deserts” that have little access to electric charging ports. Namely, wealthier, white neighborhoods are provided public charging at a rate nearly 1.5 times more than Black and Latino areas (Carroll). Apartments and condos that do not offer electric car charging create an additional obstacle to fueling electric vehicles. A majority of electric vehicles are owned by high-income, highly educated men who can charge their cars at home, so those who do not fall into the category are often overlooked in electric vehicle adoption (Hardman).

Curating Solutions for Sustainable Transit

To address these disparities, the first step would be to fix zoning laws and improve walkability in America. Land is categorized into five zones: residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, and special districts (“Types of Zoning”). European countries with proper public transportation and good walkability are enabled by zoning laws that mix residential and commercial districts (Niranjan). By changing zoning laws to allow zones to provide more than one central service, dense cities with a variety of easily accessible shops, parks, and schools will be created. Improving public transportation is the most effective way to allow individuals to utilize sustainable transit. Creating small, local lines to reach more people living in urban and suburban areas will increase the reach of accessible public transit. Although these local lines will be slower than larger, regional lines, addressing the disparity in specifically marginalized communities is a start to fixing transit. Waiving bus fares for a specific period to encourage public transit is initially costly, but a beneficial way to get more riders onto public transit for the first time, and hopefully a long time. Sustainable transportation will be a necessary pillar when reconstructing an eco-friendly America, and rebuilding the transit system with measures to keep the Earth healthy is crucial for today and tomorrow.

Anderson, Jeffrey H. “Classification of Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas in the National Crime Victimization Survey.” Bureau of Justice Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice. Dec. 2020, bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cusrancvs.pdf. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

Carroll, Kat, et al. “Many US Communities Face EV ‘Charging Deserts.’ 5 Strategies Can Help.” World Resources Institute. 25 Sep. 2023, wri.org/insights/electric-vehicle-charging- station-access. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

“Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic Status.” American Psychological Association. 2017, apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

“Equity in Transportation for People with Disabilities.” The Leadership Conference Education Fund. civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/transportation/final-transportation-equity-disability.pdf. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Fetherston, Éamonn, et al. “How could policies in the early 20th century have shaped more sustainable transportation systems?” Gala. The Regents of the University of Michigan. learngala.com/cases/model-t/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.

Fister, Tonya. “Urban Planning: How Do Cars Make Cities Less Accessible & Less Efficient?” Ask Media Group. 5 July 2022, ask.com/news/urban-planning-how-do-cars-make-cities-less-accessible. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

Hardman, Scott, et al. “A perspective on equity in the transition to electric vehicles.” MIT Science Policy Review. 30 Aug. 2021, sciencepolicyreview.org/2021/08/equity-transition-electric-vehicles/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

Lindwall, Courtney. “Electric vs. Gas Cars: Is It Cheaper to Drive an EV?” Natural Resources Defense Council. 21 Mar. 2024, nrdc.org/stories/electric-vs-gas-cars-it-cheaper-drive-ev. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

Menendian, Stephen. “U.S. neighborhoods are more segregated than a generation ago, perpetuating racial inequity.” NBC News. 16 Aug. 2021, nbcnews.com/think/opinion/u-s-neighborhoods-are-more-segregated-generation-ago-perpetuating-racial-ncna1276372. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.

Ng, Amanda E, et al. “QuickStates: Percentage* of Adults Aged >18 Years who Lacked Reliable Transportation for Daily Living in the Past 12 Months, by Disability Status and Age Group - National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2022.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 22 Feb. 2024, cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7307a4.htm. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.

Niranjan, Ajit. “Europe beats the US for walkable, livable cities, study shows.” The Guardian. 16 Sep. 2024, theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/16/europe-beats-the-us-for-walkable-livable-cities-study-shows. Accessed Feb 1. 2025.

O’Dell, John. “Big Gap Remains in Average Price of Electric Car vs. Gas Car.” Edmunds. 8 May 2024, edmunds.com/car-buying/average-price-electric-car-vs-gas-car.html. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

“Physical Activity for People with Disability.” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. cdc.gov/disability-and-health/articles-documents/physical-activity-for-people-with-disabi lity.html. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.