Opening the door to social equity: local and participatory approaches to transportation planning in Montreal

Abstract

Purpose Transportation systems play a key role in providing individuals with a diversity of means to access their desired destinations and have significant impacts on their quality of life. The social perspective of mobility is, however, marginalized in the current model of transportation planning and significant changes are called for. This study aims to identify the barriers and opportunities of local participatory approaches to trigger changes in transportation planning in Montreal, drawing on the concept of social learning. Methods A case study approach is selected and the participatory processes of two Local Transportation Plans (LTPs) are analysed. Data is collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with local transport planners and representatives of community groups. A qualitative content analysis is conducted to assess the outcomes of public participation, the quality of the processes and the perspectives of participants.Results The results highlight the narrow contribution of the participation of local communities and community groups in the development of LTPs. Furthermore, the participatory process assessed in this research allows for a limited integration of social aspects in the planning process. The main barriers lie in the broader planning context and the organizational structure at the borough level as well as the lack of expertise of the community groups. Nevertheless, LTPs provide a window of opportunity for addressing transport-related social aspects. Conclusion In order to take advantage of this opportunity and foster social learning towards the desired changes, the process requires the inclusion of clear social equity goals at the metropolitan level. Furthermore, the presence of a skilled facilitator is key to support the integration of diverse perspectives on transportation planning. It is also essential to provide community groups with resources to meaningfully participate in the process, thereby promoting social equity. In sum, LTPs have the potential to further include the social dimension of transport, but further steps are required to foster an equitable and sustainable transportation system. This research is of relevance to researchers and planners wishing to better understand the challenges associated with participatory processes and social equity in transport planning.

Foreign countries, foreign customs: an analysis of short-distance mobility of new immigrants in the Rhine-Main region in Germany

“…They need immigrants to be mobile and able to move around to improve the integration process. Again, research is confirmed [2,3].…”

“…Mobility is an important component of social participation and integration. It allows access to employment, education, and social networksin total, to modern life and societal opportunities [1][2][3]. Digitalisation can have a substituting effect: Internet and mobile devices allow home office solutions for a number of jobs.…”

“…Research, however, has shown that especially immigrants living in isolated areas tend to be less mobile and have fewer networks outside their direct environment [2,8]. This, in turn, causes higher risks of unemployment and social exclusion [3]. This already shows that mobility has a highly social component that has to be considered when planning mobility.…”

Examining social inclusion among pedestrian plans in Canada

“…Our sample of plans nevertheless illuminates practices which, according to previous studies, can raise the voices of socially‐excluded groups in planning procedures and outcomes. The mailing of brochures detailing plan design procedures to all residents (St. John's) and continuous public engagement over two years at a downtown mall storefront (Saint John) demonstrate proactive outreach to communities with poor news or internet access while simultaneously generating public interest in planning objectives and, ultimately, helping planners to glean insights from non‐opinion‐leading constituencies (Elvy ; Boisjoly and Yengoh ). Making its way into the more recent plans, social media facilitates transparent debate among community members about planning issues, particularly benefiting those whose neighbourhood and household circumstances preclude attendance at set‐time, brick‐and‐mortar meetings (Evans‐Cowley and Griffin ).…”

Distributive Justice and Transportation Equity: Inequality in accessibility in Rio de Janeiro

“…Other efforts are necessary to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the long-term equity impacts of transport projects in terms of health, travel costs and road safety. Other research questions that deserve careful attention from future studies include the long-term effects of transport investments on real estate values (Jun, 2012;Stokenberga, 2014), gentrification processes (Gaffney, 2016) and issues of governance and participatory decision-making which are also of key importance for the co-production of fair transport policies (Boisjoly & Yengoh, 2017;Fainstein, 2010).…”