Where the Sidewalk Ends: Equity Disparities with Respect to Municipal Maintenance Policy

Sidewalks are a fundamental component of urban transportation networks. Yet unlike the rest of the right-of-way, many cities place the financial onus for the maintenance and replacement of sidewalks on the adjacent property owner. The resulting sidewalks can often be inconsistent and the means to fix them inefficient. Moreover, there may be disparities in the provision and quality of sidewalk infrastructure based on race, ethnicity, and/or income. This issue, unfortunately, remains an under-researched topic, primarily due to a lack of comprehensive sidewalk data. However, some cities are now beginning to collect planimetric spatial data from high resolution aerial imagery. This research project will conduct a comprehensive spatial analysis of the sidewalk infrastructure of two cities that take on the responsibility of sidewalks, and two that put that responsibility onto the abutting property owners. The research team will first ask whether variation in sidewalk maintenance policy impacts how sidewalks are being supplied and maintained in cities as well as if there are differences in the provision and condition of sidewalks based on income, race, or ethnicity in neighborhoods across these cities. If the team find disparities, they will then seek to see if these are related to differences in pedestrian safety outcomes. This work will account for sidewalk supply, quality, state of disrepair, urban design, street design, and connectivity as well as potentially confounding factors such as land use. Beyond the direct policy implications of this research, this work will also speaks to environmental justice as well as ADA accessibility.

Record URL:

Language

English

Project

Status: Active
Funding: $258313.20
Contract Numbers:
69A3551747108
Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590
Managing Organizations:
Mountain-Plains Consortium

North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND United States 58108
Project Managers:
Kline, Robin
Performing Organizations:
University of Colorado Denver

Department of Civil Engineering
1200 Larimer Street, Room 3037
Denver, CO United States 80217
Principal Investigators:
Marshall, Wesley

Janson, Bruce
Start Date: 20181214
Expected Completion Date: 20220731
Actual Completion Date: 0
USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
Source Data: MPC-579

Subject/Index Terms

TRT Terms: Cities; Equity (Justice); Ethnic groups; Income; Maintenance management; Pedestrian safety; Policy; Race; Sidewalks; Spatial analysis
Subject Areas: Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Policy; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

Accession Number: 01688471
Record Type: Research project
Source Agency: Mountain-Plains Consortium
Contract Numbers: 69A3551747108
Files: UTC, RiP
Created Date: Dec 14 2018 5:00PM