Insights to Support Transportation Equity in Rural America: A Primer and Practical Compilation of Concepts, Resources, Tools, and Reforms

Benefits: With this primer report, we hope that rural transportation practitioners feel more informed about transportation equity concepts, resources, tools, and reforms, and empowered to support transportation equity policies and programs to support fairness and justice in their communities.

The primary purpose of this project was to review, analyze, and compile information and resources to support transportation equity in rural communities throughout the U.S. We used publicly available databases and information in the form of published reports, articles, and presentations to examine the following research questions:

• What resources are available to support transportation equity in rural communities?
• What measures are available to guide the assessment of transportation equity and the prioritization of transportation investments?
• What transportation policy and program innovations and reforms are available to support transportation equity in rural communities?

We provide a review of key concepts (including rural, equity, mobility, and accessibility), key resources (from the Legislative and Executive Branches as well as the Transportation Research Board and additional entities), measures (including tools to identify people and places for equity considerations as well as tools for measuring the impact of projects), and reforms (including reforms to support expanded access to travel such as universal basic mobility, and reforms to improve travel conditions such as sidewalk network improvements). With this primer report, we hope rural transportation practitioners feel more informed about transportation equity concepts, resources, tools, and reforms, and empowered to support transportation equity policies and programs for fairness and justice in their communities.