Equity and Social Justice considerations in road safety work: The case of Vision Zero in New York City

• Published in: Transport policy Vol. 149; pp. 11 - 20
• Main Authors: Abebe, Henok Girma, Belin, Matts-Åke, Björnberg, Karin Edvardsson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Criticisms; Data-driven approach; Equity; New York City; Road safety; Safe systems; Social justice; Sweden; Vision Zero; New York City; Sweden; Vision Zero; Criticisms; Equity; Road safety; Safe systems; Social justice; Data-driven approach
• ISSN: 0967-070X; 1879-310X; 1879-310X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.01.024

This paper analyses how Vision Zero (VZ) efforts in New York City (NYC) account for equity and social justice implications of road safety work. VZ policy documents, research literature, popular science and opinion articles on road safety work in the city were studied with a prime focus on equity and social justice. Twelve semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in road safety and transport planning in the city and at national level were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of policy design, the adoption process, and the role of equity considerations in the city's road safety work. The results show that major equity and social justice issues arise in the adoption and implementation of VZ. These issues are primarily related to equity and fairness in the distribution of life saving interventions, the socio-economic impacts of road safety strategies, and the nature of community engagement in policy design and implementation. The findings point to a need for VZ practitioners to give due considerations to equity and social justice implications of VZ policies and strategies. Among others, it supports the need for understanding the nature of past equity and social justice problems in road safety and transport planning in the VZ policy design process. Moreover, the findings suggest the need for empirical studies on the socio-economic implications of VZ strategies and interventions.
•There were major road safety related inequities and injustices prior to the adoption of Vision Zero in New York City.•The promotion of Vision Zero also gives rise novel equity and social justice concerns related to its adoption process and the choice of road safety strategies and interventions.•A successful and morally acceptable implementation of Vision Zero demands recognizing and proactively accounting for ethically problematic aspects of road safety work, including those related to equity and social justice.•Vision Zero should integrate equity and social justice into road safety work, for example, by adopting a broader conceptualization of a data driven approach that includes socioeconomic and community data in addition to quantitative crash data.•The promotion of Vision Zero should allow meaningful inclusion and participation of different road user and socioeconomic groups in the goal setting and implementation of Vision Zero policies.