Environmental Justice

A federal requirement of the long-range transportation planning process is to assess the potential impact of the 2007 CLRP on minority, low-income, and disabled population groups in the metropolitan Washington region. The analysis in this section is intended to supplement the general performance analysis for the 2007 CLRP by analyzing particular demographic characteristics and impacts.  

The environmental justice analysis is specifically designed to answer the following questions:

  • How many minority, low-income, and disabled individuals live in the Washington region?
  • Where are these individuals located within the region?
  • How do minority, low-income, and disabled individuals get to work?
  • Where do these individuals live relative to transit facilities?
  • What are the benefits and burdens of the long-range transportation plan?
  • How are the benefits and burdens distributed across minority, low-income, and disabled population groups?

In order to answer these questions, this section includes the following:

Limitations of the Analysis

The methodology of the current analysis is limited by the available tools and data. The U.S. Census provides imperfect data on minorities and disability status.  Minority racial groups tend to be undercounted, relative to the general population.  This means that Census data may underestimate the relative size of minority groups in the Washington region.  The number of individuals with disabilities may also be underestimated, because the Census relies on self-reports of disability status and some individuals may be reluctant to identify themselves as disabled.  

Furthermore, the prevalence and location of minority, low-income, and disabled population groups in the year 2030 is not known.  It is likely that changes in land-use, housing prices, and migration patterns will alter the demographic profile of the region over the next 25 years. 

To measure benefits and burdens of the long-range plan, the current analysis considered easily quantifiable aspects of regional transportation system, such as the location of major highways and transit routes.  The analysis did not consider more qualitative aspects of the system.  Qualitative features such as those listed below can make the transportation system more or less accessible to minority, low-income, and disabled individuals:

  • Safety and comfort
  • Reliability
  • Availability of off-peak service
  • Features that address the specific needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities
  • Availability of information and ease of use
  • Language barriers
  • ADA accessibility of transit stops

Current analysis does not consider accessibility by non-motorized forms of transportation, such as walking and biking, and does not consider non-transportation-related benefits and burdens of the long-range plan, such as air, water, or noise pollution.  These kinds of analyses would require data and analytical tools that are unavailable.