Making a Case for Equity Planning in Transportation Development: Identifying Indicators and Building a Framework for Hillsborough County, FL

The idea that planners should work toward an equitable society has been part of the profession since the 1960s, largely based on the work of planning theorists like Paul Davidoff, Sherry Arnstein and Norman Krumholz. Transportation planning, however, has been slower than other sectors of the profession, such as housing, to embrace equity planning concepts. That has begun to change as concerns about income inequality, environmental justice and climate change have become more salient. This thesis makes the case that in order to improve social equity outcomes, transportation planners must make social equity an explicit goal and add social equity performance measures and targets to their plans. The study focuses on Hillsborough County, Florida as a case study and analyzes the extent that transportation planning agencies in the county consider social equity in their plans and processes. The data on plans and processes will be compared to data on social equity outcomes related to the distribution of transportation benefits and burdens, and next steps to improve social equity outcomes in the County will be identified in the form of policy recommendations