Transportation: History and Inequalities in the United States​ (2021)

Transportation has played a vital role in American economic development. Between the mid-1800s and Great Depression, railways were the predominant form of transportation, critical for westward expansion and economic growth. By the mid-twentieth-century, government policies encouraged greater investment in highways than in railways, a trend to be supported through additional policies. Adoption of an automobile-focused transportation policy has produced discrimination against minority communities, sub-urbanization of American cities, and a dependency on car ownership and gasoline. As the cost of owning and maintaining a vehicle has increased dramatically, public transportation budgets have been slashed. The winners from these transportation policies include automobile and fossil fuel industries. The losers include low-income people who rely on public transportation and the 45 percent of Americans without access to public transportation. Harm results also from the environmental damage done by burning fossil fuels and the unrealized economic benefit of public transportation investments. 

• Student(s): Daren Mena, Lindsay Dattilio, Rebecca Drumm, Sara Dick, Jonathan Carls, Ebony Huertas
• Project Mentor(s): Anna Sorensen
• L&RF 2021 Presentation-Team Transportation
• L&RF 2021 Video Presentation-Transportation