In July 2021, NADO Associate Director Carrie Kissel shared a presentation about rural transportation and equity concepts at the Automated Road Transport Symposium.

1. Planning with not for:
Rural Transportation and Equity
Carrie Kissel
National Association of Development Organizations and NADO
Research Foundation

2. About NADO & NADO Research Foundation
 National association for 540 regional development organizations,
including emerging network of Rural Transportation Planning
Organizations (RTPOs or RPOs)
 Promote public policies that strengthen local governments,
communities and economies through the regional strategies,
coordination efforts and program expertise of the nation’s regional
development organizations
 Research and capacity building on regional planning and development
issues

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Image source: Washington Post, Jan 3, 2020

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6. Aging Rural Places
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7. Rural Migration
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8. Increasing Rural Diversity
• Rural minorities are 22% of the population in 2017 (compared to
42% in urban areas), but diversity is increasing. USDA ERS: Rural
America At-a-Glance 2018
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9. Rural Poverty
• Rural poverty occurs at higher rates than urban poverty
• Rural: 15.4% in 2019 (down from 30-yr peak of 18.4% in 2013)
• Urban: 11.9% in 2019
• Highest regional poverty rate: South, 19.7% nonmetro
• Rural racial/ethnic minorities had the highest poverty rates
• 2019: Black 30.7%, Native American 29.6%, Hispanic 21.7%
• Poverty among whites was 13.5%, but whites made up 80 percent of the rural
poor in 2017
Source: USDA ERS, Rural Poverty and Well-Being (June 2021), Rural America At-a-Glance 2018

10. Compliance
• Environmental Justice:
• Avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and
environmental effects, including social and economic effects, on minority populations and
low-income populations (FTA Circular:
www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/FTA_EJ_Circular_7.14-12_FINAL.pdf)
• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act:
• Prohibits discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance on the basis of race,
color, and national origin, including the denial of meaningful access for limited English
proficient (LEP) persons (FTA Circular:
www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/FTA_Title_VI_FINAL.pdf)
• Americans with Disabilities Act:
• Prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with
disabilities (FTA Circular:
www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/Final_FTA_ADA_Circular_C_4710.1.pdf)

11. Beyond Compliance
• Equity & justice work
• Doesn’t discriminate, avoids disproportionate effects, but also…
• Has a broad lens on fair treatment, meaningful participation, and removing
barriers, beyond those identified in Title VI, EJ, ADA
• Internal organizational policies and processes
• Hiring, dress codes, leave policies, communications, workplace evaluations,
procurement, board/committee recruitment
• External programming
• Public outreach/input gathering, information sharing, participation in programs/services
or benefit from outcomes of programs

12. What are Rural Agencies Doing?
• Equity analysis, with community members
• Define the problems: what’s working well and for whom? What do you want
to change and why?
• Articulate an approach, emphasizing inclusion and equitable outcomes
• Make a case for systems change
• How does data inform your work?
• What past policies affect inequity in the region, and how can those be addressed?
• How can we avoid future harm?
• How can we repair inequity and engage for the long-term?
• Reflection: check outcomes, benefits, burdens, unintended consequences,
sustainability, measurement
Source: adapted from Rural Community Action Guide, Region Five Development Commission (2021)

13. How do we start?
Basic concepts in equity & justice work
• Everyone benefits from support or removal of barriers at least some
of the time; who benefits from what kinds of support might change
over time
• Individual characteristics such as race, class, gender, sexuality, age,
health & disability status, educational attainment, English language
proficiency, religion, immigration status intersect and shape people’s
lives
• Intersectionality: experience differs based on individual, characteristics and
identity, and context (Crenshaw)
• Also consider spatial inequity (rural-urban continuity, distribution of wealth)

14. Resources
• Engagement
• Rural Community Equity Action Guide, Region Five Development Commission
• The Community Engagement Guide for Sustainable Communities, PolicyLink
• Orton Family Foundation Community Heart & Soul
• Data
• USDA Economic Research Service (look for economy and policy maps)
• Stats America
• Ideas for internal/external policies and programs
• Conscious Style Guide (inclusive language)
• Kirwan Institute (implicit bias, inclusivity training)
• General
• Equity Resources for Economic Development & Planning, NADO resource collection

15. Connect with NADO
Carrie Kissel, Associate Director
ckissel@nado.org | 202.643.9560
Visit us online: www.NADO.org
www.RuralTransportation.org | www.CEDScentral.com
Upcoming events:
NADO Annual Training Conference, 10/17 - 20, 2021, Portland, OR
National Regional Transportation Conference, July 2022, Kansas City, MO