Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor(s)

John Van Buren

Abstract

In 2021, transportation accounted for 29% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, making it the largest contributor by sector, and 58% of these emissions came from the use of passenger cars and light-duty trucks. Electrification of personal vehicles and promotion of sustainable transit options is often centered in environmental discourse and policymaking, but many discussions neglect pertinent issues of social inequity at play. The transit-reliant urban poor, isolated in city centers by suburban sprawl, live in communities with not only a reduced access to jobs, healthcare, education and public resources, but an increased exposure to pollution, especially from automobiles. This paper seeks to incorporate the perspective of transit equity into the broader field of environmental justice and build a multidisciplinary framework for developing transit policy that is both environmentally and socially just. Chapter 1 examines quantitative and qualitative data on the relationship between transit inaccessibility and environmental disamenities in New York City and the uneven distribution of these issues across neighborhoods of different incomes and demographic makeup. Chapter 2 provides a historical account of suburbanization and car culture in America as it relates to social inequalities and public transport infrastructure. Chapter 3 uses a sustainable urban design perspective to explore transportation planning in New York City. Chapter 4 evaluates current transportation-related policy in New York City through the lens of environmental justice. Chapter 5 draws on discussions in previous chapters to establish specific policy recommendations for the City of New York based on a combined framework of environmental justice and transit equity.

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