Exclusionary Landscapes Through Infrastructure: Accessibility of Public Transportation in Urban America
Topics:
Keywords: Exclusionary Landscape, Public Transit, Urban, America, Accessibility, Sustainability
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Anna Elena Kavanaugh, Michigan Technological University
Clare Fidler, Michigan Technological University
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Abstract
Transportation is at the forefront of the sustainability conversation as a major contributing sector to carbon emissions. The United States has a culture based around individuality and private enterprise, built on its colonial roots and industrial leadership, creating exclusionary landscapes for those without the means to achieve individuality for their transportation. Within urban areas, there is a greater push by members of the community for public transportation in order to move towards a world without as much reliance on private vehicles, lowering the overall carbon emission within the transportation sector of the United States. However, with a culture based around individual convenience, there is skepticism around whether this will be a viable option for all groups, or just those who the United States has historically tailored their society towards. This paper explores the social, economic, and environmental aspects of urban public transit and how these shape exclusionary and inequitable landscapes. Using United States public transit case studies across the fields of geography, sustainability science, urban studies, among others, in tandem with first-hand experience, this study questions and analyzes the viability of universal ridership and accessibility for urban public transit in both its current and future state. The study focuses on how demographics influence the feasibility of public transit within major metropolitan areas in the United States as a community-wide alternative to private transit, and how the current projection of ridership promotes the continued exclusion for historically excluded groups.
Exclusionary Landscapes Through Infrastructure: Accessibility of Public Transportation in Urban America
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Paper Abstract
Description
Submitted by:
Anna Kavanaugh
aekavana@mtu.edu
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