Environmental Justice
“Environmental Justice” means the just treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect human health and the environment so that people:
- Are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and
- Have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.”
MRMPO’s Commitment
To continue addressing the historical legacy of disparities in how communities of color and low-income populations have been affected by government actions, including transportation planning decisions, the MRMPO is committed to the following:
- Providing meaningful opportunities for public engagement with members of low-income and minority populations during the planning and development of programs, policies, and activities (including identification of potential effects, alternatives, and mitigation measures).
- Providing access to public information concerning the human health or environmental impacts of programs, policies, and activities on low-income and minority populations.
- Including explicit consideration of the effects of potential future regional transportation system planning scenarios on low-income and minority populations.
Transportation Accessibility Analyses
MRMPO has worked to expand its technical capabilities regarding equity and developed a variety of analyses that measure accessibility to transit and destinations such as outdoor recreation and health care facilities for low-income and minority populations in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA) as part of the Connections 2040 MTP.
View this online story map for interactive visualizations of these analyses.
Healthy Equity and Air Pollution
In this online story map, air pollutant data from the EPA’s EJ Screen 2.0 release is combined with environmental justice population demographics and measures of health vulnerability to visualize the distribution of traffic-related environmental health impacts to help inform actions to support improved and more equitable public health outcomes.