Recent Streetsblog MASS posts about Equity

Traffic congestion on I-93 southbound in downtown Boston, pictured around 2 pm on Thursday, August 8, 2019.

Addressing the Climate Emergency Could Deliver A Big Payday to Transit

By Christian MilNeil | Aug 15, 2019 | 1 Comment

At a public workshop in Chelsea Tuesday evening, Massachusetts officials said that they are committed to improving air quality and funding better transit options, particularly in low-income and racially diverse communities, while they design a new “cap and invest” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Twelve states and the District of […]

An "under the hood" view of the MBTA's new battery-powered Silver Line bus vehicle. Courtesy of the MBTA.

Batteries, Or Overhead Wires? The Debate Over Zero-Emission Bus Technology

By Christian MilNeil | Aug 5, 2019 | 1 Comment

The MBTA this week celebrated the addition of its first purely battery-powered buses to its fleet, with five new Silver Line vehicles. But some transit advocates were less impressed, saying that instead of relying on unproven battery technology, the MBTA should expand its fleet of electric trolleybuses, which draw their power from overhead wires and […]

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown could soon sign a law increasing the density of housing in the state's cities. Courtesy of StreetsblogUSA

TOD-Da! Oregon Blocks Single-Family Zoning

By Aaron Short | Jul 2, 2019 | 1 Comment

The Oregon legislature passed a bill striking low-density zoning in large cities on Sunday, a move that helps create transit-oriented development.

City Councilors Michelle Wu (at podium) and Ed Flynn (behind, to the right) stand with social justice advocates at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown at a press conference on the disparate impacts of air pollution to communities of color on Thursday, June 27, 2019.

Study: People of Color Suffer Higher Health Risks From Highway Pollution

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 28, 2019 | 5 Comments

Thanks to decades of planning decisions that routed highways through Asian, black and Latinx neighborhoods, and a lack of affordable housing in transit-accessible locations, air pollution from tailpipes is significantly more likely to harm communities of color across Massachusetts, according to a new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists. In the new report, Inequitable […]

MIT Study: High Fares Limit Low-Income Households’ Mobility

By Christian MilNeil | Jun 10, 2019 | 4 Comments

A team of MIT researchers today announced the results of a study that concluded that a discounted transit fare for low-income households could offer significant benefits to those households without necessarily contributing to peak-hour crowding in the MBTA system. In a new whitepaper, “How Low-income Transit Riders in Boston Respond to Discounted Fares: A Randomized […]