An NJTPA study concluded in 2007 identified low-income and minority populations in northern New Jersey and examined travel characteristics of these communities. This work, briefly overviewed here, yielded important information that supports ongoing NJTPA attention to issues of Environmental Justice.
Populations and Communities
Federal regulations on Environmental Justice (EJ) focus on minority and low-income populations. EJ studies, however, often focus on a broader group, termed as the “transportation disadvantaged.” It is a fairly common practice in transportation planning and research to consider the disabled, the elderly, households without a car, people with limited English proficiency, as well as the poor and minorities, as the groups comprising the transportation disadvantaged. Although there is often a significant overlap between some of these groups (for example, many elderly are also poor), the travel needs and transportation strategies for these groups often vary. For example, for people in poverty who are of working age, one of the most significant travel needs pertains to access to work, but for the elderly, access to work is not a high priority. Similarly, the strategies that may be highly relevant for the disabled may not be appropriate for the non-disabled poor.
Understanding these circumstances, EJ communities were delineated considering the share of minority and low-income populations in each community. Within those EJ communities, the specific needs of other transportation disadvantaged groups, such as the disabled, the elderly, households without a car, and people with limited English proficiency, were also noted as important factors.
For the delineation of EJ communities, data on the proportion of low-income and minority populations in Block Groups was examined. A cut-off point was set where natural breaks occurred in the distributions. Subsequently, municipalities were identified as EJ communities if more than half of their block groups contain 55% or more minority population OR 15% or more low-income population. Based on these thresholds and other criteria (e.g., number of TANF and Food Stamp recipients, Free & Reduced Lunch Students, and Municipal Distress Index), a total of 34 municipalities were identified as EJ communities.
These 34 EJ communities contain over 61% of the region’s low-income population and 56% of minority population, amounting to a total of 1.3 million persons. Approximately 60% of the households without a car in the region reside in these communities.
Travel Characteristics
An important step in assessing transportation needs of EJ communities is to comprehend and compare the travel characteristics of those communities. These travel characteristics include variables such as mode use, trip purpose, trip frequency, etc. An understanding of actual travel characteristics is important because it is the result of an interaction between people’s desire to travel and the quality of transportation infrastructure and services.
Travel Mode: While a vast majority of people in the region commute to work by driving alone, a substantial proportion of residents in EJ communities commute by public transit bus and carpooling also:
Trip Purpose: Trip purposes vary across socioeconomic groups. The proportion of work trips for low-income persons is smaller than for other groups, but a substantial proportion of their trips are made for shopping and visiting doctors/dentists.
Trip Frequency: Populations in low-income and minority communities usually make fewer trips per day than other populations. On average, residents of the region’s EJ communities make about 1.4 trips a day, while residents of non-EJ communities make about 1.6 trips a day.
Data source: NJTPA/NYMTC RT-HIS 1997 (updated 2000)