We Need to Do Better

Originally published on railvolution.org. Rail~Volution is now Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility.

George Floyd should be alive. His murder is just the latest instance of extreme injustice arising from the racism embedded in our society and institutions. We condemn the brutality of the actions of the officers in the Minneapolis Police Department. We fully support every effort to prosecute these officers and the mandate to replace systems and behaviors based in white supremacy with systems rooted in equity and honoring diversity.

In this moment, with cities and communities wracked not only by a pandemic and economic downturn but by justified protests against racism and abuse of power, we know we must do better. We recognize that the worst impacts of the pandemic and unrest will fall on the same black, indigenous and other communities of color already suffering from historic and systemic disinvestment. We are challenged to define and support a vision of rebuilding – of bricks and mortar, infrastructure and systems of power – that centers equity and justice. To effectively counter a history of systemic inequity and dismantle white supremacy, we must intentionally make decisions in a new way.

Transportation, city planning and development policies and practices created and perpetuate systemic inequities and directly harm black, indigenous and other communities of color.  America’s highway infrastructure was built by destroying black communities and the legacy of red-lining shaped the neighborhoods we live in today.

The past twenty-five years of urbanization and transit-oriented development have resulted in more livable communities, rich with amenities and access to jobs, schools, health care, groceries, and opportunities for recreation. But these community improvements were, by design and policy, exclusionary, not built to be inclusive, and resulted in displacement as residents were often forced to relocate due to market-driven housing costs.

Rail~Volution was founded on the idea that the community matters first, not the project. Our goal as an organization is to stoke change at individual and organizational levels to advance equitable transit-oriented communities where people of all incomes, abilities and identities can thrive. Transit, planning and development have caused harm, but must be marshalled as solutions to advance health equity, transit equity, and racial equity.

Through our conference and programs we have confronted and tried to address some of these issues, among them policing and transit, policies to combat displacement, and community as the starting point and the end point of the work. We formed an Equity Task Force last year to grapple with how we can promote equity through all we do. We are on a journey. Over the coming months, we will be providing program opportunities to take stock, driving toward a larger discussion about addressing racial disparities at our virtual conference in October.

More than ever, we are challenged to step up. We call on ourselves and those in our network to foster bold action and actively support individuals, organizations and policies that advance equity and the change we want to see.