The EJRC will work in collaboration with local, regional, and national organizations to explore transportation issues in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. The project will expand the transportation and urban sprawl work currently underway at the EJRC. It will use an interdisciplinary approach to examine transportation issues and : (1) Demographic Trends, (2)Governance, (3) Public Policy and Planning, (4) Minority Opportunities, and (5) Social, Economic, and Physical Mobility.

Dr. Robert D. Bullard, co-editor of "Sprawl City: Race, Politics and Planning in Atlanta" (Island Press, 2000) will serve as the principal investigator on the project.

Project Objectives
The two-year project has four broad objectives: (1) to document the impact of the region's policies on transportation investments and equity; (2) to inform, educate, and empower grassroots community groups of color on transportation investments, land-use planning, and community economic development decision making; (3) to serve as an information clearinghouse on transportation equity, environmental justice, and urban sprawl policies; and (4)to impact transportation planning and funding in the region.

Project Components
The project has ten major components: (1) Ethnic Working Group on Transportation Equity and Urban Sprawl, (2) Transportation Equity Study, (3) Lecture Series/Speakers Bureau, (4)Newsletter, (5) Multi-Ethnic Media Campaign, (6) Brochures and Fact Sheets, (7) Community Access to the Internet, (8) Transportation Resource Directory and Tool Kit, (9) Video, and (10)Atlanta Transportation Equity Summit.

Ethnic Working Group on Transportation Equity and Urban Sprawl An Ethnic Working Group on Transportation and Urban Sprawl (i.e., comprised largely of African Americans and other people of color groups, organizations, voluntary associations, and historically black institutions)will be established in the Atlanta Metro area. The Working Group will hold meetings, briefings,review materials assembled under the project, and provide feedback on transportation planning meetings. The Ethnic Working Group will receive and take testimony and materials from the core researchers assembled as part of research team and present to appropriate government decision making bodies. The Ethnic Working Group will also hold a series of facilitated focus group meetings, briefings, and roundtable discussions with community, academic, government, and other leaders to discuss and review the project work products, related resource materials, and plans. Staff support will be provided to the Ethnic Working Group.

Transportation Equity Study The EJRC will commission a series of transportation policy papers from leading transportation experts, researchers, planners, analysts, and activists in the field. The policy papers will (1) analyze and critique the current transportation and urban sprawl problem, (2) project impacts of current policies and alternative strategies on low-income and people of color, (3) develop and articulate alternative visions for the Atlanta region, and (4) communicate the alternative visions and recommendations to the appropriate policy makers.

The commissioned papers will explore the impact of the region's transportation and land-use decisions on mobility, social equity, economic opportunity, and access to jobs in the region. Some of the specific research areas to be explored in the policy papers include:

• environmental justice
  
• transportation costs, benefits, and equity
  
• highway and infrastructure investments
  
• transportation subsidies
  
• regional transit
  
• mobility and access to jobs
  
• commuter rail
  
• transit-oriented development
  
• representation and transportation decision making
  
• air quality and public health
  
• congestion mitigation
  
• residential housing patterns
  
• racial redlining and disinvestment
  
• concentration of poverty and widening economic gap
  
• economic activity centers and location of jobs
  
• transportation enhancements

The EJRC will enlist the assistance and support of a core group of transportation researchers, policy analysts, and community leaders in collecting, assembling, and interpreting transportation data. The project will work in collaboration with and draw lessons from the experiences of the Los Angeles-based Labor Community Strategy Center's work on transportation equity and transit racism.

Lecture Series/Speakers Bureau This component of the project involves conducting a series of lecture series with select community organizations, area colleges and universities, with emphasis on the Atlanta University Center (i.e., a consortium of six historically black colleges and universities enrolling some 10,000 black students), elected officials, and governmental officials.

Two lectures (Fall and Spring Lectures) will be conducted per year for a total of six guest lectures during the project period. The lecture series will cover such topics as: (1) transportation racism, (2) transportation and urban sprawl, (3) transit-oriented development, location efficient mortgages, and community assets building, (4) public transit, welfare to work, and access to jobs, (5) transportation, air quality, and public health, (6) transportation and land use research needs, (7) transportation as a civil rights issue, and (8) community-driven transportation planning models. The project will assemble a group of local and national experts who will serve as speakers on urban sprawl, smart growth, access to jobs, transportation equity, transit-oriented development, locational efficient mortgages, air quality and public health, land use, and other related issues. The speakers will be used for lecture series, community forums, seminars, workshops, and other community events held in the region.

Newsletter The project will produce a newsletter in print and electronic form (posted on the EJRC Web page). The newsletter will be targeted at community based organizations, nongovernmental organizations, neighborhood associations, civic clubs, homeowners associations, churches, and ethnic-based organizations.

Multi-Ethnic Media Campaign The project "Just Transportation Campaign" targeted at people of color-oriented media. First, the project will organize a Media Advisory Group comprised of the local ethnic newspapers, radio stations, cable television channel, and people of color journalists who are employed by the majority media in Atlanta. This Media Advisory Group will assist the project designing a media strategy that targets the specific problems in African American and other people of color communities. The project will also target Spanish-language print and electronic media and media that serves to Asian Americans (i.e., Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.). The project will work with CAU-TV in producing a series of shows that address transportation equity in the region.

Brochures and Fact Sheets The project will work with local community based organizations (CBOs), churches, community centers, and other neighborhoods groups to design and distribute a culturally-sensitive brochure. The project will also fax, mail, and e-mail Fact Sheets to community stakeholders.

Community Access to the Internet The Internet has proven to be a fast, efficient, and economical mode of communicating and disseminating information. Because of the significant underrepresentation of people of color groups using the Internet, special efforts will be undertaken to increase the number of community based organizations that are on line. The project will facilitate its core Ethnic Working Group members access to the Internet and conduct Internet training with other community based organizations in the region.

Transportation Resource Directory and Tool Kit The project will compile and distribute a Transportation Resource Directory that profiles groups and organizations that are working on transportation, environment, housing, energy, health, economic, and a broad range of community issues. A user-friendly culturally-sensitive transportation tool kit will contain useful information and tips on linking transportation with livable communities, economic development, neighborhood enhancements, social equity, civil rights, and public health. It will also include "practical tips," "how to," did you know," and "best practices." It will profile several "success stories" each year. The directory will be distributed (updated each year) in limited hard copies, on disk, and on the Internet (EJRC's home page) to community based organizations, day care centers, schools, public libraries, community centers, and churches.

Video The project in collaboration with CAU-TV will produce a short (12-15 minutes) video to explore transportation equity problems and solutions. The EJRC and CAU-TV co-produced two videos: "Just Transportation" (1995) and "Sustainable Atlanta" (1997). The Ethnic Working Group will advise the video production. The video will be culturally sensitive to the various ethnic groups in the area. It will be distributed free to schools, voluntary associations, churches, PTA's, neighborhood groups, and other community organizations. We expect to distribute 100 videos over the grant period.

Atlanta Transportation Equity Summit An Atlanta Transportation Equity Summit will be held in the second year of the project. This day-long Summit will bring together the research findings, best practices, lessons learned, and community leaders to map out a strategic plan of action. The participants will also set an action agenda for the future. The Ethnic Working Groups along with several national leaders will assist in planning the Summit. 

The Atlanta Transportation Equity Project (ATEP) is funded by the Turner Foundation and the Ford Foundation.