Inequity in Transport: The Problem with Auto Hegemony

It is well known that ubiquitous use of the automobile has become a threat to the environment. However, humans have also become negatively affected by the proliferation of the current auto-centered culture, particularly low-income minority groups. Those who have access to a vehicle have a great advantage in our society while those who do not suffer in many ways. The current style of American transportation planning virtually ignores the needs of those who do not have access to a personal vehicle. Since low-income minority groups are disproportionately represented in this category, traditional transportation planning could be observed as structural discrimination. In recent history, inadequate appropriation of funds towards public transportation in the United States has been mostly to blame for the lack of safe, efficient travel options of those who do not have access to a car. Medical ailments have been linked to the increased frequency with which low-income minorities live in areas with high vehicular ambient air pollution, even though these individuals are less likely to produce that pollution. As private car hegemony is globalizing, poor minority groups in developing nations are at risk of experiencing these same phenomena as more and more of their valuable agricultural land is starting to be usurped for the purposes of building road infrastructure for the automobile. Amid all the problems our society is facing, a new paradigm shift towards equitable and sustainable transportation planning is desperately needed. Springs: Inequity in Transport 199