Updated Spatial Equity Tool From TA, MIT Shows Widespread Inequity, Racial and Economic Divides in Bus Speeds, Plaza Access, Flood Exposure; Demonstrates Need for Congestion Pricing
Spatial Equity NYC, an online data tool released by Transportation Alternatives and the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT, depicts the impact of car-centric planning and policies on public health, the environment and mobility.
In the ten City Council districts with the most bus commuters, there are 53% more Latino residents and 34% more Black residents, compared to the average district, but 14% fewer streets with a bus lane.
In the ten City Council districts with the most flooding, the share of Black residents is 32% higher than the average district.
Council districts where a majority of residents are Black have 40% fewer residents living within walking distance of a pedestrian plaza, and council districts where a majority of residents are nonwhite have 37% fewer residents living within walking distance of a pedestrian plaza — as compared to the average New York City Council district.
NEW YORK — Today, Transportation Alternatives, alongside MIT’s Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU), is both updating and expanding Spatial Equity NYC, a tool that maps and analyzes inequities in how public space is used and allocated across New York City.
The expanded tool now includes brand-new data layers, such as flooding or access to public seating, and maps all data by both State Assembly and State Senate Districts for the first time. Spatial Equity NYC also ranks and compares each district by over a dozen equity metrics, so anyone using the tool can see how each community compares to other neighborhoods across New York City. With this new data, New Yorkers can advocate for the changes and resources their communities need.
This new tool depicts shocking new inequities when it comes to who in New York City is impacted by spatial allocation. For example:
Low-income New Yorkers ride the bus the most, but receive the worst service. In the ten lowest-income City Council districts, residents are 45% more likely to rely on the bus than the average district. However, bus speeds in these districts are 10% slower, compared to the average district.
In the State Assembly districts that make up the congestion pricing zone, there are significant inequities caused by congestion, leading to 20% slower bus speeds, 17% higher PM 2.5 levels (a dangerous air pollutant), and 22% higher rates of serious traffic injuries, compared to the average district – even though 79% of households here do not own a car.
The most flood-prone districts are some of the least prepared for it. The 10 City Council districts expected to see the most flooding have less water-absorbing greenery – with 10% less permeable surface area and 22% less tree canopy than the average district – despite 85% more of their residents living in a floodplain, compared to the average district.
Pedestrian plaza access is profoundly unequal. More New Yorkers live within walking distance of a pedestrian plaza in Council District 1 than the total number of New Yorkers who live within walking distance of a pedestrian plaza in 26 other council districts combined.
Spatial Equity NYC now includes 24 data layers, including six new layers and additional data visualizations. Now anyone can see the percentage of residents who: live in a floodplain, live near a pedestrian plaza, have access to sidewalks, suffer from serious injuries from traffic, and visit the emergency room due to childhood asthma, as well as the average commute times by various modes. The tool also shows every traffic fatality since Vision Zero began in 2014, the canopy of every tree, every on-street city bench, flooding, bus lanes, and subway lines. This tool is also no longer static; all of these layers will now refresh as new data becomes available.
An updated Spatial Equity NYC is launching alongside four new factsheets on bus commute times for low-income riders; flood risk in Black communities; pollution and traffic violence in the congestion pricing zone; and pedestrian plazas in neighborhoods of color. These fact sheets also include recommendations to improve the inequities highlighted in the data.
Gathering raw data provided by trusted sources including the US Census Bureau and the City of New York, Spatial Equity NYC is a one stop shop for policymakers, journalists, and the public to get a clear look at disparities and provides concrete solutions to fix these inequities. Spatial Equity NYC’s update and expansion extends this functionality, allowing users to now analyze data by State Senate and Assembly districts, as well the already-available City Council District and Community Board options.
"Today, we're expanding Spatial Equity NYC with MIT to give New Yorkers more ways to see how the decisions on our streets impact our health, environment, and infrastructure. The inequities this tool brings to light are staggering, and entirely fixable," said Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "By empowering New Yorkers with data and solutions, Spatial Equity seeks to build a more equitable, healthy, sustainable, and vibrant New York City.”
“While much of the data we need to advocate for communities exists openly it is hard for policy makers to obtain it, and if they can access it, perform the quantitative analysis that shows how well their community measures up to others. Spatial Equity NYC fills that gap, making it easier to see how well your community is doing, thereby making it much easier to advocate for change,” said Professor Sarah E. Williams, Director of the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism at MIT.
“There’s no reason that Staten Islanders should be denied access to sidewalks, more children in the South Bronx should visit the emergency room for asthma, or neighborhoods across Southeast Queens should be devoid of public space like benches and pedestrian plazas,” said Philip Miatkowski, Senior Director of Research & Policy at Transportation Alternatives. “These inequities are man-made, and they all have solutions. The expanded Spatial Equity NYC sheds new light on our city’s staggering misallocation of space and resources — a reality that upholds a dangerous status quo. We’re also offering solutions to some of the city’s most pressing problems, and encouraging everyone in the five boroughs to demand more from our elected leaders. It’s time to imagine and build a city that serves us all.”
What is Spatial Equity?
In New York City, streets and sidewalks make up the majority of public spaces — and more than three-quarters of this space is devoted to parking and moving cars. Devoting so much of New York City’s finite public space to car traffic has created widespread and deeply inequitable harms, especially to already vulnerable populations.
Spatial equity is a way to understand how public space — including streets, sidewalks, and green spaces — is distributed, restricted, used, and made unusable, and the different outcomes that result for different communities. Public space can be used positively — such as a bus lane that speeds up commutes — or negatively — such as impermeable asphalt that makes flooding worse.
What Supporters Are Saying:
“Every New Yorker deserves access to the public space and public resources they need to thrive — be it clean air, trees, sidewalk space, public benches, bus lanes, or bike parking,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “With this expanded tool, New Yorkers everywhere can see how their neighborhood compares to others — and push their elected leaders at the city and state level to do better. With Spatial Equity’s new data, we can fight for a better city for us all, and push to end man-made inequities like increased risk of childhood asthma, higher rates of traffic violence, and extreme heat.”
"In the quest for equity, the labyrinth of urban disparities demands our attention. With the updated Spatial Equity Tool shedding light on the intersections of race, economics, and infrastructure, we're equipped to forge pathways to empowerment. From pedestrian plazas to flood-prone communities, our actions must resonate with justice, as exemplified by congestion pricing – not just as a fiscal tool, but as a common-sense climate justice and traffic reduction measure. Every street, sidewalk, and green space must echo the chorus of accessibility and empowerment for all communities,” said State Senator Robert Jackson.
“The Spatial Equity NYC website illustrates the harsh reality southern Brooklyn residents have known all too well. For far too long, New York City was designed with Manhattan as a center point thus leaving outer-borough communities with inequitable transportation options and lack of investments in public spaces. Working class New Yorkers depend on public transportation to get around their own City and our current system continues to fall short on the needs of southern Brooklyn. As we continue to shed light on inequities with data-driven tools, we must invest in and deliver a reliable and equitable New York,” said State Senator Iwen Chu.
“My community has the third highest levels of extreme heat in NYC and ranks 25th out of 28th in terms of district access to bus lanes. I hear these statistics and think of the families with young children, the seniors, and the workers who rely on our bus network to move through our city. These are policy choices that do not demand complicated solutions. This is a perfect example of how climate justice, transit equity, and racial justice go hand in hand,” said State Senator Jessica Ramos.
“This powerful new tool from Transportation Alternatives and MIT is a treasure trove of clear, accessible data about our city. Among other things, it makes a very strong argument for the necessity and benefits of congestion pricing, as the data shows that my Senate District on the East Side of Manhattan has the worst air quality of any district in the city, and slower bus speeds and more traffic injuries than almost all other districts. I encourage all my colleagues in government to take a look,” said State Senator Liz Krueger.
“It is no secret that marginalized populations are disproportionately impacted by inequitable access to public transportation and public spaces,” said Assembly Member Harvey Epstein. “Today's announcement highlights the severe inequities that folks in my district face as a result of congestion, with significantly longer wait times for buses and poorer air quality. We must work to improve access to public transportation, decrease air pollution, and create more public spaces in our community.”
“Mayor Adams’ failure to build bus lanes in accordance with the law has hit communities of color hardest. This is no accident. It is disproportionately low-income Black and brown commuters who are stuck sitting on buses that go 8 miles an hour - the slowest in the country. I’m grateful for this new data from Spatial Equity NYC, which backs up the daily experiences of New Yorkers— and hope that it will serve as a catalyst for Mayor Adams to finally get into legal compliance by building bus lanes for all New Yorkers,” said Assembly Member Zohran K. Mamdani.
“New Yorkers living on Flatbush Avenue deserve the same access to reliable transportation and public space as those on Park Avenue. The data in the new Spatial Equity tool shows what people in neighborhoods like mine have always known: low-income communities of color don’t get the services they need. This should be a wakeup call to my fellow elected leaders throughout the city and state. It’s time for us to stand up and take action to ensure that public space works for all New Yorkers, no matter what zip code they call home,” said Assembly Member Brian A. Cunningham.
“It’s no secret that access to public transportation is not equal for all New Yorkers, and hopefully expansion of bus lines and subways can help remedy that. In the meantime, the updated Spatial Equity Tool developed by Transportation Alternatives and MIT shows exactly where those inequities lie. New York City, especially in Lower Manhattan, is very densely populated, and a faster and more reliable bus system would be a huge benefit to the community,” said Council Member Christopher Marte.
“Everyone in New York City is a pedestrian – and we all deserve access to basic resources like wide sidewalks, pedestrian plazas, public seating, and more,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “These public spaces and public seating are especially critical for New Yorkers walking with families, New Yorkers who have disabilities, and New Yorkers who are aging in place – but they’re not allocated equitably across our city. The expanded Spatial Equity NYC will empower New Yorkers in the 39th district and across New York City to see inequities in their neighborhood and demand better – from more pedestrian space to cleaner air to more trees.”
"The Spatial Equity NYC data tool sheds crucial light on the clear divides and perils born from our long-standing car-centric urban design. Access to this kind of robust data is paramount as we chart a course towards a future where the needs of our communities take precedence. I am eager to collaborate with my Council peers to reverse historical policies and reconstruct a cityscape where people—and not cars—are at the forefront of our planning,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher.
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About Transportation Alternatives
For over 50 years, Transportation Alternatives has led the movement for safe, equitable streets in New York City because streets belong to the people of New York City. TA uses a combination of neighborhood-level grassroots organizing and citywide advocacy to push for changes in public policy, street design, enforcement, and resource allocation that transform our city’s streets for the better.
About MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism
Urbanism constitutes one of the most complex societal challenges of today’s world. MIT's Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) is motivated by the radical changes in our urbanizing environment, and focuses on the design and planning of large-scale, complex, metropolitan environments. The LCAU’s mission is to establish a new theoretical and applied research platform to create knowledge that can be used to transform the quality of life throughout the urbanized world. LCAU is committed to achieving this goal through collaborative interdisciplinary research projects using design as a mode of inquiry, intellectual discourse, and dissemination through leadership forums, conferences, publications, and teaching.
