Transportation and its Impact on Community Health
In the wise words of Maya Angelou, “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there.” Our health is a reflection of everything that surrounds us – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the connections we have with one another. Clean, affordable, and equitable transportation options play a crucial role in shaping the health and well-being of our communities. However, the expansion of highways and the reliance on fossil-fueled vehicles have had detrimental effects on many communities, leading to displacement, toxic air pollution, and high economic costs.
These impacts are disproportionately borne by communities of color and low-income communities, known as frontline or environmental justice (EJ) communities. These communities are already burdened with the cumulative effects of hazardous facilities, water contamination, climate change impacts, and various other stressors that impact their health and quality of life.
Cumulative impacts refer to the combined chemical and non-chemical stressors that affect a community’s health and well-being. It recognizes that communities do not face these stressors in isolation but rather experience them all at once from multiple sources. For example, living near a busy highway exposes residents to higher levels of tailpipe pollution, increased risks of car crashes, and decreased quality of life and economic growth. Projects like the construction of new highways often exacerbate existing harms in EJ communities, leading to further environmental injustice and inequity.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to assess the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental effects of proposed federally funded transportation projects. However, the current NEPA process has shortcomings that allow state DOTs to bypass thorough reviews and assessments, leading to harmful projects being approved without adequate consideration of their impacts on communities. Public input in the NEPA process often feels tokenistic, and agencies are not required to choose projects with the least impact, only to mitigate them to some extent.
Federal protections like NEPA serve as a baseline for safeguarding communities from harmful transportation projects, but more comprehensive policies are needed to address cumulative impacts and protect EJ communities. Collaborative efforts between transportation and environmental justice advocates are essential to advocate for policies that prioritize community health and well-being. Initiatives like the 2025 Highway Justice Act in Minnesota aim to expand cumulative impacts laws to include major highway projects that impact EJ communities, ensuring that these communities are not further burdened by harmful transportation projects.
In conclusion, a people-centered approach to transportation is crucial for creating healthy and equitable communities. Advocating for projects that benefit communities, such as dedicated bus lanes, bike paths, and pedestrian infrastructure, can help alleviate the cumulative impacts faced by vulnerable communities and create a more sustainable and just transportation system for all.
