"Seventy years of a car-only approach-not car-centric, it's car-only-is actually not just non-driver hostile, it's driver hostile. No one benefits." -Beth Osborne, Director, Transportation for America The car-only approach in transportation planning and engineering has led to the construction of roadways that have torn apart and devalued communities, especially Black and Brown communities. Forging a new path to repair this damage requires a community solutions-based approach to planning, designing, and building our roadways. When Lynn Peterson began working as a transportation engineer, she was taught to evaluate roadway projects based only on metrics related to driver safety, allowable speed for the highest number of cars, project schedule, and budget. Involving the community and collaborating with peers were never part of the discussion. Today, Peterson is a recognized leader in transportation planning and engineering, known for her approach that is rooted in racial equity, guided by a process of community engagement, and includes collaboration with other professionals. In Roadways for People, Lynn Peterson draws from her personal experience and interviews with leaders in the field to showcase new possibilities within transportation engineering and planning. She incorporated a community-solutions based approach in her work at Metro, TriMet, and while running the Washington State Department of Transportation, where she played an instrumental role in the largest transportation bill in that state's history. The community solutions-based approach moves away from the narrow standards of traditional transportation design and focuses instead on a process that involves consistent feedback, learning loops, and meaningful and regular community engagement. This approach seeks to address the transportation needs of the most historically marginalized members of the community. Roadways for People is written to empower professionals and policymakers to create transportation solutions that serve people rather than cars. Examples across the U.S.-from Portland, Oregon to Baltimore, Maryland-show what is possible with a community-centered approach. As traditional highway expansions are put on pause around the country, professionals and policymakers have an opportunity to move forward with a better approach. Peterson shows them how.
Ryan Reft is a historian of the Modern U.S. in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. Since 2017, He has worked as senior co-editor of the Urban History Association's blog, The Metropole. Amanda Phillips de Lucas is a social scientist and environmental historian. She studies infrastructure, highways, environmental justice, and social movements. Rebecca Retzlaff is a professor in the Community Planning Program and director of the Academic Sustainability Program at Auburn University. She formerly worked as a planner with the City of Detroit and in the Research Department of the American Planning Association.
Foreword by Janette Sadik-Kahn Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Why Transportation Planning and Engineering Need a Paradigm Shift Chapter 2: The Evolution of Approaches to Transportation Engineering and Planning Chapter 3: Addressing the Legacy of Racist Transportation and Housing Policy Chapter 4: Getting Out of Our Siloes Chapter 5: The Community Solutions-Based Approach in Practice Chapter 6: Building Communities of Peoples' Dreams Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
