Are We on the Same Track? Using Lived Experiences to Understand the Complex Impacts of New Transportation Investment

Abstract

North American planning is now emphasizing more integrated approaches that centre new transportation infrastructure in larger urban redevelopment approaches, such as transit-oriented development. Research demonstrates numerous measurable land-use and economic benefits associated with planning that prioritizes density, vibrancy, and accessibility through public transit and active transit infrastructure. But planners and policymakers lack insight into the mobility benefits and potential consequences for the original community and particularly, deeply marginalized residents. Importantly, these planning approaches are using transportation infrastructure as much more than a tool for improved transportation, and thus the implications also extend beyond travel. As a response, this dissertation challenges the inherent benefit of large-scale transportation investment by providing a series of counternarratives to current understanding of the impact of new transportation on a community and its residents. This is done through lived experience data, which this dissertation argues is necessary for acquiring a comprehensive understanding of how these planning projects bring about change. Currently, implications of new transportation on individual mobility and on community transformation are underexplored. Using a mobility justice lens, this research interrogates unique dimensions of the impact and divide for residents and stakeholders navigating new active transportation, such as bike lanes, and new transit, such as light rail. Using the Region of Waterloo as a study area, this dissertation provides three unique case studies that centre lived experiences and perspectives from different stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on deeply marginalized residents. Three sets of semi-structured interviews were conducted: the first with 22 key stakeholders (planners, politicians, etc.) who were involved in the development of the region’s ION light rail transit (LRT) project and have in-depth knowledge about its planning and political economy. Second, 22 realtors and developers working in the region were interviewed, as they have a strong sense of the regional market and associated trends. Finally, 20 deeply marginalized Region of Waterloo residents were interviewed, as they have experienced this change firsthand and are the most impacted by it. Waterloo Region presents as a particularly salient case study, as it is the smallest North American region to operate an LRT. Further, the arrival of the LRT came with a fundamental reorganization of the previously strong bus transit network. This means all regional ridership has been impacted by the LRT, whether residents use the LRT or not. Findings are presented through three empirical manuscripts. The first manuscript demonstrates the divide between perceived project goals and ridership experience from community members who are navigating the integration of a new transit system. These findings highlight conflict between expert opinions and community needs, arguing that while appearances have improved, the ridership experience has actually declined for some. The second manuscript finds that opinions of transportation can be influenced by positionality, both physically and professionally, as suburban residents and realtors struggle to see themselves, or their needs, in new active and public transit. The final manuscript provides a holistic vantage of the interconnectedness of transportation and other social, political, and economic constraints. Through interviews with deeply marginalized residents, this manuscript finds that transportation investment has cascading impacts that disproportionately affect equity-deserving groups in visible and invisible ways. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the inherent bias that individuals and groups bring to conversations of transportation. Residents, stakeholders, and experts bring their own lived experiences that can prevent them from fully acknowledging or understanding oppositional opinions from individuals with vastly different experiences than their own. Essentially, this work stresses the importance of acknowledging, incorporating, and collecting diverse experiences and perspectives from as many groups as possible in the planning of new transportation. These perspectives can then be used to inform transportation systems that are beneficial for residents and the community at large. This research is valuable for theory as it contributes to the further theorization of mobility justice in planning research while addressing a growing gap in the way planners consider transportation’s complex impacts. It further provides numerous recommendations for planning practice, including integrating more diverse perspectives into all stages of the planning process, partnering with community organizations to ensure equity-deserving groups have access to the planning process, and reflecting on the role that transportation is meant to play within a community.