Mobility Justice: A New Framework

The purpose of this report is to define and document the origins, definition, and themes of mobility justice. Methods included a literature review of both academic and activist usages of the term and interviews with early mobility justice leaders. Results revealed that mobility justice emerged as a concept simultaneously in academic and activist spaces. The field of critical mobilities studies began conversations in academia. Conversations in the field began among sustainable transportation practitioners who also identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color, particularly at gatherings of a collective called The Untokening. Interviewees expressed the importance of respecting this genealogy and the definition as laid out by these leaders. They defined mobility justice as a movement towards liberation for all, particularly those most marginalized by systems of oppression. Mobility justice’s origins are grounded in past civil rights movements, especially for Black people. As such, it connects other justice-based movements and has strong ties to abolitionism. Practitioners advocate for strong community leadership in future transportation decision-making. They see mobility justice as centering life—of people, the community, and the environment. This requires an understanding of how identity shapes experiences of mobility, particularly in relationship to systems of power. Transportation researchers and professionals are encouraged to engage in further reading and training to better integrate history, local context, and attention to systems of power into their work.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.25554/skx3-9v41
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/76928
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program. Cover date: August 2024.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of California, Davis

  Institute of Transportation Studies
  Davis, CA  United States  95616

  Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center

  University of Southern California
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90089

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  California Department of Transportation

  Sacramento, CA  United States  95819
• Authors:
  • Smith, Toby
  • 0009-0004-1113-8619
  • Herda, Coco
  • 0009-0006-3252-4425
  • Hsu, Maya
  • 0009-0005-3921-2144
  • Fletcher, Chynell
  • 0009-0004-5317-1863
  • Gadnis, Rania
  • Sanchez, Mayra Barba
  • 0009-0007-4982-8334
  • McCullough, Sarah Rebolloso
  • 0000-0003-2101-8931
• Publication Date: 2024-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 66p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Definitions; Environmental justice; Equity; Mobility
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01928811
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: PSR-21-44, UCD-ITS-RR-24-47
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747109
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 26 2024 2:45PM