Environmental Justice

Access to opportunities includes the chance to not face air pollution’s disproportionate effects 

Transportation projects create environmental externalities including air pollution and noise pollution and this burden is often borne by low-income households and communities of color living near highways and other transportation facilities. Early UCLA work on environmental justice includes a citizen’s handbook on Environmental Justice and Transportation. This volume identified a multitude of environmental justice concerns regarding transportation: the disproportionate burden of negative impacts (like air pollution) of transportation projects, the disproportionate benefits of new transportation facilities, and the limited involvement of some communities in transportation decision-making.

Houston, D., Wu, J., Ong, P., & Winer, A. (2006). Down to the Meter: Localized Vehicle Pollution Matters. ACCESS Magazine, 1(29), 22-27. Retrieved from https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2006/meter-localized-vehicle-pollution/

Houston, D., Ong, P., Jaimes, G., & Winer, A. (2011). Traffic exposure near the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex: using GPS-enhanced tracking to assess the implications of unreported travel and locations. UC Berkeley: University of California Transportation Center. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/17w613sw

Winer, A., Zhu, Y., & Paulson, S. (2014). Carmageddon or Carmaheaven? Air Quality Results of a Freeway Closure. ACCESS Magazine, 1(44). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/81f063z9