There's No Justice In Transit! -Transit Equity, Land Use, and Air Quality in

By

Laura Beth Machala

B.A., Environmental Studies (2003)

Oberlin College

Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master in City Planning

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

June 2007

C 2007 Laura Machala. All Rights Reserved.

The author hereby grants to MIT the permission to reproduce, and to distribute publicly, paper and electronic copies of the thesis document in whole or in part.

A uthor...... Department of Urban Studies and Planning ,/ May 18,2007

Certified by...... Professor James H ton Departm nt of Urban Studies and P ning Thesis Supervisor

...... 0...... Accepted by...... , , Professor Langley C. Keyes Department of Urban Studies and Planning Chair, MCP Committee iSSACH USL~TfS INi TUTE

JUL 13 27 ROTCH

THERE'S NO JUSTICE IN TRANSIT! -TRANSIT EQUITY, LAND USE, AND AIR QUALITY IN BOSTON

by

LAURA BETH MACHALA

Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning on May 18, 2007 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in City Planning

ABSTRACT:

As a result of created by the / Project (CA/T), aka "the ," transit and other air quality mitigation projects were incorporated into the State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP is mandated by the Clean Air Act (CAA) for areas that do not attain or need to maintain air quality above federally mandated levels. Originally, the transit commitments that were made to mitigate the effects of the Big Dig were located in urban and suburban areas. However, while an urban/suburban balance was arguably intended in the SIP, over the years, the urban SIP commitments have been largely neglected. As a result, transit justice in Greater Boston has been negatively effected. If the SIP is truly meant to improve air quality, its focus should be on making cities more viable and healthy places to live and on curtailing sprawling suburban land use. Furthermore, SIP requirements should change to influence a more equitable distribution of transit investment in Boston and other metropolitan areas. 4 "Harbingers of the modem civil rights movement, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott of the 1950s challenged transportation racism. Later, the Freedom Riders of the 1960s defied 'Jim Crow' on interstate transportation. Despite the heroic efforts of many and the monumental human rights gains over the past five decades, transportation remains a civil rights and quality of life issue."1

Source: http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/ images/pho/t012/T012714A.jpg

"The national transportation system should be socially equitable and strengthen civil rights; enabling all people to gain access to good jobs, education and training, and needed services. Where possible, personal transportation expenses should be minimized in ways that support wealth creation. Integrated with land use planning, transportation should also enhance the quality, livability, and character of communities and support revitalization without displacement. The transportation system should allow every American to participate fully in society whether or not they own a and regardless of age, ability, ethnicity or income." -New Transportation Charter2 6 Acknowledgements-

Throughout the course of my studies at MIT and especially during the last 4 months, I have thanked my lucky stars on multiple occasions that Jim Hamilton happened by DUSP the same time I did. I have learned a lot from Jim-not just about brownfields and how to deal with clients, but also about how to really think critica