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NATIONAL
NCHRP
REPORT 532
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Effective Methods for
Environmental Justice
Assessment
OCR for page R2
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2004 (Membership as of July 2004)
OFFICERS
Chair: Michael S. Townes, President and CEO, Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, VA
Vice Chair: Joseph H. Boardman, Commissioner, New York State DOT
Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
MEMBERS
MICHAEL W. BEHRENS, Executive Director, Texas DOT
SARAH C. CAMPBELL, President, TransManagement, Inc., Washington, DC
E. DEAN CARLSON, Director, Carlson Associates, Topeka, KS
JOHN L. CRAIG, Director, Nebraska Department of Roads
DOUGLAS G. DUNCAN, President and CEO, FedEx Freight, Memphis, TN
GENEVIEVE GIULIANO, Director, Metrans Transportation Center and Professor, School of Policy, Planning, and Development, USC,
Los Angeles
BERNARD S. GROSECLOSE, JR., President and CEO, South Carolina State Ports Authority
SUSAN HANSON, Landry University Professor of Geography, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
JAMES R. HERTWIG, President, CXS Intermodal, Jacksonville, FL
GLORIA J. JEFF, Director, Michigan DOT
ADIB K. KANAFANI, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
RONALD F. KIRBY, Director of Transportation Planning, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
HERBERT S. LEVINSON, Principal, Herbert S. Levinson Transportation Consultant, New Haven, CT
SUE MCNEIL, Director, Urban Transportation Center and Professor, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and Department of
Civil and Material Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago
MICHAEL D. MEYER, Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
CAROL A. MURRAY, Commissioner, New Hampshire DOT
JOHN E. NJORD, Executive Director, Utah DOT
DAVID PLAVIN, President, Airports Council International, Washington, DC
JOHN H. REBENSDORF, Vice President, Network Planning and Operations, Union Pacific Railroad Co., Omaha, NE
PHILIP A. SHUCET, Commissioner, Virginia DOT
C. MICHAEL WALTON, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
LINDA S. WATSON, Executive Director, LYNX--Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando, FL
MARION C. BLAKEY, Federal Aviation Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
SAMUEL G. BONASSO, Acting Administrator, Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
REBECCA M. BREWSTER, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA (ex officio)
GEORGE BUGLIARELLO, Chancellor, Polytechnic University and Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering (ex officio)
THOMAS H. COLLINS (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (ex officio)
JENNIFER L. DORN, Federal Transit Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
EDWARD R. HAMBERGER, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads (ex officio)
JOHN C. HORSLEY, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ex officio)
RICK KOWALEWSKI, Deputy Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
WILLIAM W. MILLAR, President, American Public Transportation Association (ex officio)
BETTY MONRO, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
MARY E. PETERS, Federal Highway Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
SUZANNE RUDZINSKI, Director, Transportation and Regional Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (ex officio)
JEFFREY W. RUNGE, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
ANNETTE M. SANDBERG, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
WILLIAM G. SCHUBERT, Maritime Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
JEFFREY N. SHANE, Under Secretary for Policy, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
CARL A. STROCK (Maj. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ex officio)
ROBERT A. VENEZIA, Program Manager of Public Health Applications, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (ex officio)
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Transportation Research Board Executive Committee Subcommittee for NCHRP
MICHAEL S. TOWNES, Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, VA JOHN C. HORSLEY, American Association of State Highway
(Chair) and Transportation Officials
JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, New York State DOT MARY E. PETERS, Federal Highway Administration
GENEVIEVE GIULIANO, University of Southern California, ROBERT E. SKINNER, JR., Transportation Research Board
Los Angeles C. MICHAEL WALTON, University of Texas, Austin
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP REPORT 532
Effective Methods for
Environmental Justice
Assessment
DAVID J. FORKENBROCK
Public Policy Center
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
JASON SHEELEY
URS Corporation
Austin, TX
S UBJECT A REAS
Planning and Administration · Energy and Environment · Transportation Law
Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2004
www.TRB.org
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH NCHRP REPORT 532
PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Project 8-41 FY'01
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local ISSN 0077-5614
interest and can best be studied by highway departments ISBN 0-309-08798-8
individually or in cooperation with their state universities and
Library of Congress Control Number 2004109183
others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation
develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to © 2004 Transportation Research Board
highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a
coordinated program of cooperative research. Price $34.00
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research
program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is
supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating
member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation
and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States NOTICE
Department of Transportation.
The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the
was requested by the Association to administer the research
approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval
program because of the Board's recognized objectivity and reflects the Governing Board's judgment that the program concerned is of national
understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the
suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee National Research Council.
structure from which authorities on any highway transportation
The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review
subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and
this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due
cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and
universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the
Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee,
research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National
matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
a position to use them. Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
The program is developed on the basis of research needs Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee
identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research
departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research
areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed Council.
to the National Research Council and the Board by the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and
qualified research agencies are selected from those that have
submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research
contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council
and the Transportation Research Board. Published reports of the
The needs for highway research are many, and the National
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of are available from:
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program,
however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or Transportation Research Board
duplicate other highway research programs. Business Office
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
and can be ordered through the Internet at:
Note: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the
National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual
http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do
not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear
herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Printed in the United States of America
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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol-
ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology
and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in
1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni-
cal matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration
and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for
advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs
aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve-
ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the
services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining
to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of
Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative,
to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the
Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate
the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and
advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad-
emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences
and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and
the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair,
respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board's mission is to promote
innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting,
the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and
practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical
excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research
results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board's varied activities annually engage more
than 5,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and
private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is
supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of
the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the
development of transportation. www.TRB.org
www.national-academies.org
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 532
ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Manager, NCHRP
RONALD D. McCREADY and MARTINE A. MICOZZI, Senior Program Officers
EILEEN P. DELANEY, Director of Publications
NCHRP PROJECT 8-41 PANEL
Field of Transportation Planning--Area of Forecasting
DAVID L. WINSTEAD, Holland & Knight, Washington, DC (Chair)
JAMES D. ALTENSTADTER, PIMA Association of Governments, Tucson, AZ
WILLIAM R. BLACK, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
ROBERT GARCIA, Environmental Defense Fund, Los Angeles, CA
TIMOTHY HILL, Ohio DOT
LEE ANN JACOBS, FHWA
GREGORY P. KING, California DOT
LEIGH B. LANE, Raleigh, NC
VALERIE J. SOUTHERN, Issaquah, WA
LINDA M. ZEMOTEL, Minnesota DOT
DANYELL DIGGS, FHWA Liaison Representative
JAMES RYAN, FTA Liaison Representative
KIMBERLY FISHER, TRB Liaison Representative
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Jason Sheeley, Environmental Justice Coordinator at the URS Chapter 4; and Greg Brown, URS, Chapter 5. Nancy Gates, URS,
Corporation, and Professor David J. Forkenbrock, Director of the contributed to the glossary and drafted portions of Chapter 2.
Public Policy Center of the University of Iowa, served as co-principal Edwin Brands, graduate student in geography at the University of
investigators of NCHRP Project 8-41. They are the primary authors Iowa, drafted sections of Chapter 2. Scot Grant and Chris Blakely
of the guidebook. Other contributing authors include Professor of URS and Kathy Holeton at the University of Iowa developed
Marlon Boarnet of the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design most of the maps and figures in the guidebook. Nancy Gates at
at the University of California, Irvine, who drafted Chapters 9 URS and Teresa Lopes at the University of Iowa provided edito-
and 12; John Maxwell and Jean Finley, graduate students in urban rial assistance. Pat Johnson and Margie Frey at URS provided sec-
and regional planning at the University of Iowa, drafted Chapters retarial and word processing support. The following individuals
8 and 13, respectively; Arijs Pakalns and Bill Forbes, URS, from URS provided technical review at various stages of the
drafted Chapter 11; and Bill Forbes, URS, drafted Chapter 4. guidebook's development: Jeanne Witzig, John Lague, Jeff Fuller,
Portions of the four appendices were originally prepared for and David Griffin. Ten senior practitioners from metropolitan
NCHRP by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. in the 2002 report Tech- planning organizations and state departments of transportation
nical Methods to Support Analysis of Environmental Justice evaluated a draft of the guidebook and offered suggestions:
Issues. Ali Abazari, URS, drafted portions of Appendix A and Sharon Alderton, Gary Bullock, Thomas Dow, Jon Dunham,
Appendix B. The following people provided technical expertise Cedric Long, Carmine Palombo, Richard Rolland, Vincent Russo,
and input to state of the practice sections of various chapters: John Don Sparklin, and Harold Tull. The review panel also provided us
Crawford, URS, Chapters 3 and 10; Steve McManamon, URS, with suggestions.
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This guidebook is designed to enhance understanding and to facilitate considera-
FOREWORD tion and incorporation of environmental justice into all elements of the transportation
By Martine A. Micozzi planning process, from long-range transportation systems planning through priority
Staff Officer programming, project development, and policy decisions. It offers practitioners an ana-
Transportation Research lytical framework to facilitate comprehensive assessments of a proposed transportation
Board project's impacts on affected populations and communities.
This step-by-step and practical guide provides technical assistance, from selecting
appropriate methods of analysis to calculating effects on air and water quality,
drainage, and safety. It also addresses impacts of hazardous materials on affected per-
sons residing in a given locale. The conclusion of each chapter provides valuable
resources and references to supplement the reader's knowledge.
This guidebook should be of particular interest to planning practitioners in state
departments of transportation (DOTs), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs),
and local transportation planners, as well as other practitioners concerned with plan-
ning, programming, and implementing transportation projects. The guidebook will also
be beneficial as an educational resource on the concepts, tools, and procedures currently
employed for assessing environmental justice issues in the context of transportation
planning decisions.
Environmental justice embraces the fundamental human desire for fairness and
equity. Because development and implementation of transportation projects can create
potentially beneficial and adverse impacts on the communities and people they affect, they
require careful consideration and incorporation of environmental justice from the onset.
With the passage of Executive Order 12898 in 1994, environmental justice has
taken on greater significance in the scope of transportation planning. The U.S. DOT
and state and local agencies have worked to identify appropriate processes, techniques,
and effective practices for making sound environmental justice assessments and for
considering their results in transportation decisions.
The objective of this research was to identify and develop processes, procedures,
and techniques for integrating environmental justice considerations into transportation
systems planning, priority programming, project development, and decision making at
the statewide, metropolitan, and local levels. Presented as a guidebook, the research
results will improve the analytical capabilities of states, MPOs, and their planning part-
ners. The guidance builds on existing impact assessment methods and presents new
techniques that improve on current practice. These methods are organized and pre-
sented to guide practitioners in assessing environmental justice issues within specific
application categories (e.g., air quality, safety, transportation user effects, and eco-
nomic development). It is intended to advance current knowledge, provide practical
guidance and qualitative and quantitative assessment tools, and share state-of-the-art
methods for addressing environmental justice in transportation.
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CONTENTS 1 CHAPTER 1 Guidebook Overview
Introduction, 1
Environmental Justice Defined, 2
The Role of Environmental Justice in Transportation Planning
and Policy Development, 4
Environmental Justice and Distributive Effects, 6
Types of Effects Addressed, 8
Understanding the Guidebook, 9
Using the Guidebook, 12
Relationship to Other Recent Publications, 15
Resources, 17
References, 18
19 CHAPTER 2 Identifying Protected Populations
Overview, 19
State of the Practice, 20
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 22
Methods, 24
Resources, 55
References, 56
59 CHAPTER 3 Air Quality
Overview, 59
State of the Practice, 59
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 66
Methods, 66
Resources, 92
References, 92
95 CHAPTER 4 Hazardous Materials
Overview, 95
State of the Practice, 95
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 101
Methods, 102
Resources, 117
References, 118
121 CHAPTER 5 Water Quality and Drainage
Overview, 121
State of the Practice, 121
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 125
Methods, 126
Resources, 133
137 CHAPTER 6 Safety
Overview, 137
State of the Practice, 137
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 138
Methods, 140
Resources, 162
References, 163
167 CHAPTER 7 Transportation User Effects
Overview, 167
State of the Practice Accessibility, 169
Methods for Studying Accessibility, 171
State of the Practice Transportation Choice, 186
Methods for Studying Transportation Choice, 189
Resources, 196
References, 197
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199 CHAPTER 8 Community Cohesion
Overview, 199
State of the Practice, 199
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 205
Methods, 207
Resources, 215
References, 216
217 CHAPTER 9 Economic Development
Overview, 217
State of the Practice, 217
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 218
Methods, 219
Resources, 228
References, 230
231 CHAPTER 10 Noise
Overview, 231
State of the Practice, 232
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 236
Methods, 238
Resources, 248
References, 249
251 CHAPTER 11 Visual Quality
Overview, 251
State of the Practice, 252
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 263
Methods, 265
Resources, 274
References, 274
275 CHAPTER 12 Land Prices and Property Values
Overview, 275
State of the Practice, 275
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 276
Methods, 279
Additional Information, 286
Resources, 289
References, 290
293 CHAPTER 13 Cultural Resources
Overview, 293
State of the Practice, 294
Selecting an Appropriate Method of Analysis, 295
Methods, 298
References, 304
307 Appendix A Environmental Justice Regulations and Guidance
319 Appendix B Implications of Recent Environmental Justice Case Law
323 Appendix C Using Geographic Information Systems to Evaluate
Environmental Justice
335 Appendix D The Decennial Census as a Source of Data for the Analysis
of Environmental Justice
351 Glossary
