Quantitative Approach to Assess Social Equity in Road Networks
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 29, Issue 4
Abstract
Highway agencies are increasingly directed to broadly incorporate social equity goals into infrastructure planning. To better accommodate these goals in their decision making, it is essential for practitioners to assess the current level of social equity in road network performance. However, social equity in road network performance has primarily been assessed qualitatively in the existing literature, making objective assessments difficult. This work addresses this gap by proposing a quantitative approach to assessing social equity in a road network. This is achieved by formulating an assessment approach and exploring numerical measures to evaluate social equity for road network performance. The proposed approach is implemented on the street network of two cities in the United States: Seattle and New York. With the help of GIS-based visualization, the street network is studied in conjunction with the socioeconomic demographics of the city to gauge its current levels of social equity. The formulations and measures proposed in this study expand the use of quantitative metrics of social equity to support decision making. An objective evaluation of social equity levels can assist needs assessment and guide decision making.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Allison, P. D. 1978. “Measures of inequality.” Am. Sociol. Rev. 43 (Dec): 865–880. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094626.
Behbahani, H., S. Nazari, M. Jafari Kang, and T. Litman. 2019. “A conceptual framework to formulate transportation network design problem considering social equity criteria.” Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 125 (Jul): 171–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.04.005.
Camporeale, R., L. Caggiani, A. Fonzone, and M. Ottomanelli. 2017. “Quantifying the impacts of horizontal and vertical equity in transit route planning.” Transp. Plann. Technol. 40 (1): 28–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2016.1238569.
Chen, C., G. Achtari, K. Majkut, and J.-B. Sheu. 2017. “Balancing equity and cost in rural transportation management with multi-objective utility analysis and data envelopment analysis: A case of Quinte West.” Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 95 (Jan): 148–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.10.015.
City of Seattle. 2022. “Seattle streets.” Accessed July 6, 2022. https://data-seattlecitygis.opendata.arcgis.com/maps/SeattleCityGIS::seattle-streets/about.
Deakin, M. 2012. “The case for socially inclusive visioning in the community-based approach to sustainable urban regeneration.” Sustainable Cities Soc. 3 (Jul): 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2011.12.001.
Delbosc, A., and G. Currie. 2011. “Using Lorenz curves to assess public transport equity.” J. Transp. Geogr. 19 (6): 1252–1259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.02.008.
Dowling, R., A. Flannery, B. Landis, T. Petritsch, N. Rouphail, and P. Ryus. 2008. “Multimodal level of service for urban streets.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2071 (1): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3141/2071-01.
Dowling, R., and D. Reinke. 2008. Multimodal level of service analysis for urban streets. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Du, M., M. Zhao, and Y. Fu. 2020. “Revisiting urban sustainability from access to jobs: Assessment of economic gain versus loss of social equity.” Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 85 (Nov): 106456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106456.
El-Geneidy, A., R. Buliung, E. Diab, D. van Lierop, M. Langlois, and A. Legrain. 2016a. “Non-stop equity: Assessing daily intersections between transit accessibility and social disparity across the greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA).” Environ. Plann. B Plann. Des. 43 (3): 540–560. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265813515617659.
El-Geneidy, A., D. Levinson, E. Diab, G. Boisjoly, D. Verbich, and C. Loong. 2016b. “The cost of equity: Assessing transit accessibility and social disparity using total travel cost.” Transp. Res. Part A Policy Pract. 91 (Sep): 302–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.07.003.
Fan, W., and R. B. Machemehl. 2011. “Bi-level optimization model for public transportation network redesign problem: Accounting for equity issues.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2263 (1): 151–162. https://doi.org/10.3141/2263-17.
Flanagan, B. E., E. W. Gregory, E. J. Hallisey, J. L. Heitgerd, and B. Lewis. 2011. “A social vulnerability index for disaster management.” J. Homel. Secur. Emerg. Manage. 8 (1): 0000102202154773551792. https://doi.org/10.2202/1547-7355.1792.
France-Mensah, J., C. Kothari, W. J. O’Brien, and J. Jiao. 2019. “Integrating social equity in highway maintenance and rehabilitation programming: A quantitative approach.” Sustainable Cities Soc. 48 (Jul): 101526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101526.
France-Mensah, J., W. J. O’Brien, N. Khwaja, and L. C. Bussell. 2017. “GIS-based visualization of integrated highway maintenance and construction planning: A case study of Fort Worth, Texas.” Vis. Eng. 5 (1): 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40327-017-0046-1.
Gao, H., and X. Zhang. 2013. “A Markov-based road maintenance optimization model considering user costs.” Comput.-Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 28 (6): 451–464. https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.12009.
Gomes Correia, M., T. D. Bonates, B. D. Prata, and E. F. Nobre Junior. 2022. “An integer linear programming approach for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation optimization.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 23 (8): 2710–2727. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2020.1869736.
Hao, J., P. Zhang, W. Yu, and X. Mou. 2021. “Causes of spatial patterns of livability in Chinese cities: MGWRL analysis based on Didi’s big data.” J. Urban Plann. Dev. 147 (3): 04021025. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000711.
Hendricks, M. D., M. A. Meyer, N. G. Gharaibeh, S. Van Zandt, J. Masterson, J. T. Cooper, J. A. Horney, and P. Berke. 2018. “The development of a participatory assessment technique for infrastructure: Neighborhood-level monitoring towards sustainable infrastructure systems.” Sustainable Cities Soc. 38 (Apr): 265–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.12.039.
Kothari, C., J. France-Mensah, and W. J. O’Brien. 2022. “Developing a sustainable pavement management plan: Economics, environment, and social equity.” J. Infrastruct. Syst. 28 (2): 04022009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000689.
Kothari, C., and W. J. O’Brien. 2022. “Assessing social equity in highway asset management plans.” In Computing in civil engineering 2021, 441–448. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Lee, J., and S. Madanat. 2015. “A joint bottom-up solution methodology for system-level pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction.” Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 78 (Aug): 106–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2015.05.001.
Lee, J., and S. Madanat. 2017. “Optimal policies for greenhouse gas emission minimization under multiple agency budget constraints in pavement management.” Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 55 (Aug): 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.06.009.
Litman, T. M. 2022. “Evaluating transportation equity: Guidance for incorporating distributional impacts in transport planning.” Inst. Transp. Eng. ITE J. 92 (4): 43–49.
Long, L., and A. Nucci. 1997. “The Hoover index of population concentration: A correction and update.” Prof. Geogr. 49 (4): 431–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/0033-0124.00089.
Manaugh, K., M. G. Badami, and A. M. El-Geneidy. 2015. “Integrating social equity into urban transportation planning: A critical evaluation of equity objectives and measures in transportation plans in North America.” Transp. Policy 37 (Jan): 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2014.09.013.
Naseri, H., M. Shokoohi, H. Jahanbakhsh, A. Golroo, and A. H. Gandomi. 2021. “Evolutionary and swarm intelligence algorithms on pavement maintenance and rehabilitation planning.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 23 (13): 4649–4663. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2021.1969019.
NCHRP (National Cooperative Highway Research Program). 2009. An asset-management framework for the interstate highway system. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Quium, A. 2019. “Transport corridors for wider socio-economic development.” Sustainability 11 (19): 5248. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195248.
Rahman, M. M., T. Hossain, R. H. Chowdhury, and M. S. Uddin. 2021. “Effects of transportation accessibility on residential housing rent: Evidence from metropolitan city of Khulna, Bangladesh.” J. Urban Plann. Dev. 147 (2): 04021009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000668.
Santos, B., A. Antunes, and E. J. Miller. 2008. “Integrating equity objectives in a road network design model.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2089 (1): 35–42. https://doi.org/10.3141/2089-05.
Street Pavement Rating. 2021. “Street pavement rating.” Accessed March 5, 2021. https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Transportation/Street-Pavement-Rating/2cav-chmn.
Tatari, O., G. Egilmez, and D. Kurmapu. 2016. “Socio-eco-efficiency analysis of highways: A data envelopment analysis.” J. Civ. Eng. Manage. 22 (6): 747–757. https://doi.org/10.3846/13923730.2014.914079.
Theil, H. 1967. Economics and information theory. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Tian, Q., T. Zhao, and R. Yuan. 2021. “An overview of the inequality in China’s carbon intensity 1997–2016: A Theil index decomposition analysis.” Clean Technol. Environ. Policy 23 (5): 1581–1601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02050-x.
Torres-Machí, C., A. Chamorro, C. Videla, E. Pellicer, and V. Yepes. 2014. “An iterative approach for the optimization of pavement maintenance management at the network level.” Sci. World J. 2014 (Jan): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/524329.
Transportation Equity Program. 2022. “Transportation equity program—Transportation | seattle.gov.” Accessed July 16, 2022. https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/transportation-equity-program.
Trudeau, D. 2018. “Integrating social equity in sustainable development practice: Institutional commitments and patient capital.” Sustainable Cities Soc. 41 (Aug): 601–610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.05.007.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 27, 2022
Accepted: May 23, 2023
Published online: Sep 7, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 7, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bibliographies
- Business management
- Decision making
- Engineering fundamentals
- Highway and road management
- Highway transportation
- Highways and roads
- Information management
- Infrastructure
- Practice and Profession
- Social factors
- Streets
- Transportation engineering
- Transportation management
- Transportation networks
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.