Equity in Accessibility, a Case Study of City of Sacramento

Author(s) Information

Meredith C. Milam, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis ObispoFollow

College - Author 1

College of Architecture and Environmental Design

Department - Author 1

City and Regional Planning Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in City and Regional Planning

Date

6-2021

Primary Advisor

Cornelius Nuworsoo, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, City and Regional Planning Department

Abstract/Summary

This paper is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial analysis of the transportation accessibility and equity in Sacramento, California. A literature review examines discriminatory regulatory policies in the 1900s that wrote racial segregation into law. The effects of these policies have lasting effects on spatial dispersal of people and create barriers to accessibility and therefore result in inequitable transportation systems. The accessibility and equity analysis in Sacramento explores demographic data, job concentration and available modes of transportation, and commuter data. The results of the analysis suggest that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to measuring accessibility and equity. The analysis from Sacramento reveals that car sharing programs would increase accessibility, especially for historically disadvantaged communities due to the substantially high travel speeds of private vehicles compared to conventional transit systems. However, long-term solutions would include the following:

• Fundamentally altering the intensity of land use and realigning activities along corridors that transit serves well.
• Expanding affordable housing opportunities for POCs and low-income household in the highly accessible areas of the City.

URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/crpsp/234