Advancing Transportation Equity – District 8 Community Conversations Report

Studying how transportation affects equity and identifying transportation strategies and approaches that will meaningfully reduce disparities

In the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan, MnDOT committed to studying how transportation affects equity and identifying transportation strategies and approaches that will meaningfully reduce disparities. To do so, MnDOT launched the Advancing Transportation Equity Initiative in early 2018. The initiative currently includes research and engagement components.

The engagement component – Advancing Transportation Equity: Community Conversations – includes a series of in-person, in-depth conversations between MnDOT and groups, agencies and organizations that work with and represent underserved communities in Minnesota. Through these conversations MnDOT hopes to glean insight and gain information directly from underserved communities regarding their unique experiences and struggles with transportation.

District 8 in Southwest MN recently completed the Community Conversations project. Topics discussed in the one-on-one interviews included housing affordability, aging population, accessibility, poverty, and more. Transportation acts as a potential catalyst or constraint for connecting people with jobs, goods, and services. The report highlights these topics and recommendations to MnDOT to overcome transportation barriers.