Broken Buses + Incomplete Streets: Addressing Inequity in our Transportation System

Everyone in Metro Boston deserves safe, affordable, and reliable transportation options, but communities of color have been chronically neglected when it comes to prioritizing improvements on our streets.

Join us for our fall StreetTalk, “Broken Buses + Incomplete Streets: Addressing Inequity in our Transportation System,” where we will discuss why and how city transportation planning needs to address these systemic inequities head-on. Event is free, light refreshments will be served, RSVP recommended. Click here to register or call 617.621.1746.

Economic opportunity and public health in urban areas depend on access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation options — but communities of color in Metro Boston continue to be left behind. According to MAPC’s State of Equity Report, black riders spend 64 hours more per year on MBTA buses relative to white riders and often end up paying more for it. In these communities, a fight to win transportation improvements comes at the risk of gentrification and displacement. 

Our featured speakers will share their stories and engage in a thought-provoking conversation around what we can learn from our global peers, and what it will take to break down systemic inequities in Metro Boston’s transportation system. We’ll learn from Rehana Moosajee, who against the all odds, brought South Africa’s first BRT system to disconnected communities. Julian Agyeman will explore why complete streets aren’t truly complete if they don’t account for the people who use them. And we’ll hear from Allentza Michel about how local transit justice leaders are working to close the gap.

We’ll then turn the conversation over to you, the audience — to share your stories and discuss ideas for change.

LIVE SPANISH TRANSLATION WILL BE AVAILABLE

This event is hosted by LivableStreets, Boston Alliance for Community Health, Boston Cyclists Union, Roxbury in Motion, Transportation for Massachusetts, and the Institue for Transportation & Development Policy, in partnership with the Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum Steering Committee.