Project Summary
The federal government and California have adopted policies, developed programs, and allocated funds to redress the past and contemporary harms caused by transportation infrastructure development. They are committed to directing a significant portion of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. These efforts fall under the rubric of “reconnecting communities,” which aims to remedy past and ongoing injustice through new infrastructure. Equally important is the goal of meaningful stakeholder engagement, which requires rectifying biased participatory practices.
This project aims to improve restorative justice (RJ) practices in transportation and infrastructure planning by evaluating the effectiveness of programs to redress harm caused by transportation infrastructures. The project team will use spatial analysis and a survey of several dozen Reconnecting Communities (RC) projects to identify those harmed and assess engagement practices used. The team will conduct six RC case studies throughout California to examine historical and contemporary infrastructure decision-making. Finally, the team will conduct a deep process study of advisory board decision-making processes in the Bay Area to understand types of government-led RJ engagement that can truly repair harms.
