Environmental justice for pedestrians

Say the phrase ‘environmental injustice’, and the image that springs to mind is likely has something to do with pollution or hazardous land uses sited in a low-wealth community or a community of color.  A couple of reports out this month illustrate another form of environmental injustice that affects millions of Americans: poor design of streets and sidewalks, leading to pedestrian fatalities.

Dangerous by Design, released by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition, updates a 2011 study that highlighted the relationship between poor street design and pedestrian injuries and deaths (from being hit by motor vehicles).  Over half the deaths took place along arterial roadways – roads built “wide, fast, and flat” to move large volumes of cars quickly.[11].  The report includes a population-weighted index of pedestrian risk; it lists metro Charlotte as roughly double the average national risk, and Raleigh-Cary just a little less risky than Charlotte [4].  As a whole, North Carolina ranks as the 9^th most dangerous state for pedestrians [38].

The key language on differential impacts by race is this:

While non-Hispanic Whites have an age-adjusted pedestrian fatality rate of 1.66 per 100,000 persons, African Americans suffer a rate 60 percent higher, at 2.65 per 100,000 persons (age adjusted).  Hispanics of any race have a rate nearly 43 percent higher: 2.37 per 100,000 persons. [20]

Graph from Dangerous by Design, at 14

                                                                                  

The Dangerous by Design study notes that black and Latino Americans walk at slightly higher rights than white Americans, and are more likely to live in urbanized areas with more vehicle traffic.  At the same time, a well-designed study from downtown Portland, Oregon, suggests another factor:  racial bias – possibly unconscious – on the part of drivers (study; release).  A team of white and black students took turns crossing a busy, one-way street at a marked crosswalk in the middle of the block.  There wasn’t a signal on the crosswalk, so pedestrians could only cross safely when vehicles came to a stop.  The results? Cars were less likely to stop for black pedestrians: “Black pedestrians were passed by twice as many cars and experienced wait times that were 32% longer than White pedestrians”[2].  The study did not identify the race of the drivers, and did not test reactions to Latino pedestrians. 

If there’s any good news in these two studies, it’s that better street design can help.  Because better design standards shape driver behavior unconsciously – for example, narrower streets lead drivers to slow down – they work without drivers having to acknowledge or overcome intrinsic racial bias.    

The Federal Highway Administration has extensive resources to assist in the design of safer streets, and the Dangerous by Design report includes a number of additional recommendations as well, for better data collection and targeting of federal funding streams.  Fortunately, the North Carolina Department of Transportation adopted a Complete Streets policy in 2009; when implemented consistently at the local level, these design standards can go a long way to protect pedestrians.  Ultimately, better street design will protect everyone, but we should see particular improvements in the safety of those most at risk now, including seniors and pedestrians of color.