Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Civil Rights

Will Atlanta’s Transpo Referendum Overcome Early Voting Deficit?

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 31, 2012 | 5 Comments

It was fitting that yesterday, the eve of the Atlanta region’s historic transportation vote, the Georgia NAACP filed a civil rights suit against the state Department of Transportation alleging discrimination in contracting. Meanwhile, the head of the DeKalb County NAACP has come out against the T-SPLOST tax proposal, saying it will hurt minority-owned businesses. He even took a […]

Separate But Eco: Livable Communities for Whom?

By Adonia Lugo and Allison Mannos | May 22, 2012 | No Comments

Note: The authors are active advocates in the urban sustainability movement, focusing on non-motorized transportation in low-income urban areas. As mixed race women of color, we believe that we are in a unique position to bridge the advocacy communities trying to better conditions for the urban poor and for the environment. In this series, we […]

Raquel Nelson Back in Court, With High Profile Lawyer at Her Defense

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 17, 2012 | 3 Comments

Raquel Nelson, the Georgia woman who faced vehicular homicide charges last year when her four-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver, is back in court this week, appealing the results of her trial. Nelson is asking a Georgia appeals court to dismiss charges of vehicular manslaughter and jaywalking rather than proceed with the retrial […]

A Call to Plan Cities for Tomorrow, While Bracing for Transit Cuts Today

By Alice Ollstein | Apr 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

USDOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari kicked off the Transportation Equity Network’s “One Nation, Indivisible” conference yesterday with a call to think long-term. By 2050, he said, we can expect the U.S. population to grow by 100 million people, and nearly all of them will live in large urban centers. Problems like crumbling infrastructure, inadequate transit […]

In Tight Times for Transit Budgets, FTA Warns Agencies Not to Discriminate

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 15, 2011 | 3 Comments

Local transit agencies that are planning service cuts and fare hikes as a result of budget constraints have been warned: cost-cutting measures shouldn’t unfairly affect people of color. Peter Rogoff, head of the Federal Transit Administration, sent out a letter to local transit authorities last week reminding them of their duty to comply with Title […]

Civil Rights Review of Bay Area Planning Org May Set National Precedent

By Matthew Roth | Aug 24, 2010 | No Comments

The long-term impacts to transportation funding as a result of the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) civil rights compliance probe of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) won’t be clear for some time, but the action by the federal administration has transportation policy circles buzzing. Experts in civil rights and regional planning policy couldn’t point to another […]

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