Equity Committee

Co-Chair: Kirsten Tynch, VHB, Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Co-Chair: Shruti Malik, Mott MacDonald, Fremont, CA, USA

The newly formed Equity Committee seeks to develop tools, advocate, educate, and set a leadership example in our profession in making transportation equity a priority and changing the future of mobility for all users.  The committee will be responsible for advancing, implementing, measuring, and monitoring ITE’s Equity action items.  This includes engaging all transportation professionals, even non-members, and leveraging Districts, Sections, and Chapters.  In addition, equity should be incorporated across ITE Councils and ITE should further efforts with land use planners and others to break down silos and build consensus on this topic.  Moreover, ITE should seek out partnerships and build coalitions to enhance efficiency, broaden reach, and realize cost savings.

The current work plan is based on strategies recommended from the ITE Transportation Equity Listening Sessions debrief prepared by the ITE Sustainability Standing Committee.  Key initial efforts include developing a common list of terms and definitions, a quick bite series, case studies, and a long-term action plan.  The development of tools for immediate use will enable local agencies to do equity plans and leverage federal funds for transportation infrastructure investment.  Ultimately, equity will be a long-term program to serve society and shape the transportation profession.

Resources and Announcements

From the 2024 ITE Annual Meeting

Recommended Reading:

• Inclusive Transportation by Veronica Davis
• Roadways for People by Lynn Peterson
• When Driving Is Not An Option by Anna Letitia Zivarts
• Right of Way by Angie Schmitt
• Not in My Neighborhood by Antero Pietila

Stories of Black Men in America 
This video compilation, When They Speak: Stories of Black Men in America (produced by Cipriana Thompson Photography and Sunchase Media) and the COMTO DC Panel Discussion (filmed by PhoCal Vision), presents candid and honest viewpoints of America from the perspectives of Black men. They share their experiences and feelings about how they respond individually to the general societal approach to them as Black men.

ITE QuickBite: Foundation Equity Glossary
The Glossary contains key equity terms, definitions, and references in simple and accessible formats to move equity conversations forward at ITE. It provides a consistent and standard way to evaluate transportation equity. The Glossary is a living document that marks a starting point and one of the first few products that ITE’s Equity Committee (EC) has produced in its equity journey. Read more

 

ITE QuickBite: Current Case Studies - Examples of Practices of Equity in Transportation 
The Case Studies Subcommittee of the ITE Equity Committee has identified three examples of integrating equity within transportation projects that may be helpful for other transportation professionals when integrating equity within their practices. These three projects are summarized below, and further details can be found through their respective full reports. These projects, and others, were submitted by transportation professionals through a call for case studies in the summer of 2022 by the Case Studies Subcommittee. The goal of this collection and review is to highlight current practices of integrating equity within transportation holistically and practically. Read more

Foundational Equity Glossary Draft
ITE’s Foundational Equity Glossary (2022) recognizes the work of frontline leaders (not limited to women, people of color, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and many others) who worked hard for decades and continue to pave the way for equitable practices to become a reality in transportation. This document humbly continues to build on those equitable practices. It presents a foundational glossary resource developed by diverse and dedicated ITE members who are volunteers of the Common Terminology Subcommittee (a short-term, task-specific subcommittee) under ITE’s newly-formed Equity Committee in 2022 and therefore help to support and advance the narrative for the committee. Read more

ITE QuickBite: A Background on Transportation Equity and the ITE Equity Committee
Transportation equity pushes for all people to have safe, affordable, accessible, and multimodal access to opportunities and services with a fair distribution of transportation resources. An equitable transportation system can positively impact people’s health, education, access to jobs, and many other components of everyday life. Read more

Call for Transportation Equity Case Studies

The ITE Equity Committee is looking to gather knowledge of case studies that include some component of transportation equity, whether they are project centered on equity or include equity considerations or analysis. We are looking for case studies from across the US and the world. If you are familiar with or worked on any such projects/studies/programs, please reach out to Luana Broshears at lbroshears@ite.org. Thank you in advance for your time. Our committee will be accumulating the case studies gathered to distribute the lessons learned and notable practices in considering equity in a variety of transportation projects.