About My Project
Welcome to Recovering from COVID through rebuilding more equitable public transit service.
This project will assist advocates and government change-makers to create a more equitable recovery from COVID through rebuilding public transit networks to better serve the needs of the communities most dependent on transit.
There are a lot of great conversations going on about what more equitable public transit means: progressive funding sources and the distribution of those resources as service that serves all trips (more off-peak and weekend service), and addresses historical inequities (more service for communities of color). This means that transit service will need to change from how it was distributed (in time and space) before the pandemic.
Change is hard. Hard to agree on, for the public to trust, and for agencies to implement. I am focused on how to make the needed equity changes happen, especially in the relationship between transit agencies and communities.
Some of the things I am currently thinking about:
- Agency staff and community organizers building power-with each other
- How to support change-makers inside agencies
- Navigating and explaining the complexity of implementing change
- Agencies acknowledging past inequitable policies and practices
- How data is gathered, explained, engaged with, and used in decision-making
Keep up with the project on my blog.
Please contact me if you are also thinking about these topics and want to collaborate, strategize or vent.
Laurel Paget-Seekins
This project is supported by the Open Society Foundations through a Leadership in Government fellowship. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily express the views of the Open Society Foundations.
