Enhancing Equity in Transportation Infrastructure Planning: An analysis of disparities in spatial access to select destinations in Canada

Abstract

This research highlights the pressing need to address the infrastructure deficit to foster equitable mobility and to build complete, connected, and sustainable communities. We evaluated transportation inequities in access to selected destinations across Canada, leveraging Statistics Canada’s Spatial Access Measures (SAM), census data, and novel measures of transportation equity. We evaluated access to schools, grocery stores, employment, health care, sport and recreation facilities, cultural venues, and post-secondary institutions using sustainable transportation modes (walking, cycling, and public transit). We focused on five populations who may experience transportation burdens – extreme commuters, low-income households, housing-burdened households, and Black and Indigenous people – comparing outcomes across large urban areas to provide a comprehensive snapshot of accessibility dynamics. Additionally, we present the Mobilizing Justice Transportation Equity Dashboard, an interactive online mapping tool that combines the SAM with socio-demographic data from the census, enabling users to visualize and assess transportation inequities for over 20 different populations across Canada.