A National Model for Transit Equity

Kaid Benfield looks at a groundbreaking new report compiled by Reconnecting America and the equity coalition Mile High Connects, that suggests how the expansion of Denver's transit system could reach traditionally underserved populations.

1 minute read

May 7, 2012, 10:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


According to Benfield, the Denver Regional Equity Atlas, should serve as a nationwide precedent not just for its comprehensive approach to analyzing the coordination of transportation, housing, jobs, and access to important services, but also for its technological sophistication.

Coinciding with the Denver Regional Transportation District's "FasTracks" Program, "one of the country's most ambitious expansions of public transportation infrastructure and services," the report, co-written with the Piton Foundation, is intended to "inform the development of strategies to ensure that existing and expanding transit systems in the Metro Denver region provide greater access from affordable housing to jobs, good schools, health care and other essential services."

Friday, May 4, 2012 in Switchboard

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