BTC BRIEF: Investments in Public Transit: Why Equity Matters

By Tazra Mitchell
Public Policy Fellow, NC Budget & Tax Center
Nov. 2011

KEY FINDINGS

• Public transit enhances mobility and connectivity and has the potential to provide residents with an improved quality of life. This is especially important for lower-income North Carolinians, who make up the majority of those using public transit to commute to work.
• Research shows that a majority of neighborhoods where new transit stations are built experience higher housing costs, undergo gentrification, and attract higher-income residents.
• Transit plans need equity components—primarily, affordable housing tools—in order to ensure that transit investments generate a return for all North Carolinians, regardless of income.