Link to the full January-April 2025 issue.
This P&R special issue on transportation equity reveals historical continuities and discontinuities in transportation infrastructure policy and action from the early 20th century through today. Collectively, the authors explore how the power of federal transportation investments have shaped neighborhoods and regions, and by extension the uneven access to opportunities available to people depending on their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geography. The pieces also shine a spotlight on the countervailing force of grassroots organizing—from the highway revolts of the 1960s and 1970s to coalition-building for anti-displacement and equitable transit-oriented development today— that protects the integrity of Black, brown, and immigrant communities that have borne the brunt of the negative impacts of transportation projects. As we face a time of tremendous change, uncertainty, and regression in all aspects of U.S. life, the lessons from these authors offer a warning for the trajectory of current federal transportation policy and inspiration for continued resistance among diverse communities.
– Ariel Bierbaum, guest editor
