A Shared Belonging: Designing for Equitable Micromobility in Portland, Oregon
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Date
2019-06-18
Authors
Six, Hannah
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Abstract
Portland Oregon’s Forest Park— one of the largest
urban forests in the United States—usership is in a
state of inequitable distribution, disproportionately
allocating “the benefits and burdens of [urban]
growth and change”.1 Geospatial and economic
transportation barriers in access to amenities exist
with a disproportionate impact on residents of color.
The embedded structural and institutional impacts
of inequity influence an individual’s transportation
environment and access to amenities.
The urban transportation system is in a state of
innovation and change. Shared micromobility has
quickly become a part of American cities, bringing
opportunities and challenges to an equitable future.
The introduction of micromobility, on America’s caroriented
streets create a tension between the benefits
of increased equity and burdens of poor network safety.
The disproportionate burden of poorly designed, caroriented
streets are majority bared by low-income
residents of color.
This research conceives of design interventions to
relieve the tension between safety and equity to procure
the opportunity for emergent forms of micromobility to exist. Providing space in the right-of-way to encourage
equitable and carbon reducing forms of transportation
can play a critical role in allocating open space resources
for vulnerable, historically left out residents. This project
examines the opportunity for shared micromobility to
bridge Forest Parks access gap. Shared micromobility
has vast equitable potential to strengthen connections
between economic centers of opportunity, amenities
and vulnerable residents. Aside clear potential, the risk
of othering and perpetuating historic and contemporary
inequalities exists.
john a. powell’s conceptual framework, targeted
universalism and belonging propel this project to consider
interventions that aim to disrupt and dissolve structures
of exclusion. This project uses mapping to understand
the barriers of micromobility, amenity distribution
and bike infrastructure. Politically and economically
vulnerable communities are identified and overlaid with
the geographic extent of micromobility trips informing
a proposal for a protected route—Forest Lane.
Forest Lane is a micro-modal transit route that serves
historically and currently marginalized communities to
belong and exist in Portland with access to Portland’s
beloved Forest Park.
Description
178 pages. Examining committee chair: Liska Chan
Keywords
Equity, Belonging, Micromobility, Bike-share, Portland (Or.), E-scooters, Targeted universalism, Forested-open-space, Transportation, Forest Park, Portland, Oregon