Every segment of American society—individuals, families, communities, and businesses—benefits from public transit. However, there is a lack of equity in these services. Latinos, for example, often report bus routes are unreliable, infrequent, or even unsafe, contributing to disparities in health and wealth, according to a Salud America! Research Review. An equitable transit network for Latino and all families starts with an equity analysis. That’s why transportation advocacy group, LINK Houston, conducted its Equity in Transit 2018 Report. They found that nearly one million residents in Houston, Texas (44.5% Latino) are living in areas with high-transit needs, but do not have access to frequent weekday, weekend, and evening services. Do you know who has access to ...
Equitable transportation that is safe, affordable, and reliable can boost a person’s health and social mobility. But too often, public money pays for projects that widen historical gaps in access to transportation options for communities of color. Latinos, for example, face many transportation inequities that cut off connections to health-promoting assets─like affordable housing, green spaces, and medical care. This also makes it harder to lead healthy lives, according to a Salud America! research review, The State of Latino Housing, Transportation, and Green Space. That’s why we at Salud America! are spotlighting three Salud Heroes who are pushing forward for equitable transportation for Latinos and all people!
Minerva Perez’s Free Ride Program Helps Latinos Overcome ...
Where you live is significantly linked to how healthy you are. Sadly, U.S. Latino communities face unaffordable housing, unreliable public transportation, and a lack of green space and parks. This limits Latinos’ access to health-promoting assets─medical care, good schools, healthy food, and physical activity. This contributes to health inequities affecting this population. Fortunately, community leaders can adopt dynamic land-use methods, public-private partnerships, and community involvement to build and revitalize Latino neighborhoods. This can create affordable housing, connection to public transportation, and more green spaces. The result is health equity─a fair, just opportunity to achieve the best health possible.
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This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Future Research
Many of the policy suggestions and strategies highlighted in this review are based upon research performed within urban Latino communities. While many of the suggestions may be applicable to smaller Latino communities, it will be essential to determine if they will be successful when applied to the semi-isolated Latino communities of the “new Latino destinations.” In one sense, because the majority of these policy recommendations hinge upon community activism and solidarity, it may be possible to translate them into the heavily Latino-majority communities found in these small-town and rural areas. However, activism builds upon political ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Conclusions
Latinos need affordable housing options, access to reliable, relevantly routed public transportation, and connected, safe, and maintained green spaces for transportation and recreational use. Many societal and economic factors are responsible for the inequitable distribution of funds to support these projects. For instance, it was beyond the scope of this review to fully discuss the historical legacy of disparities. However, with proper political will and community activism, change can be made to improve access to affordable housing, public transportation, and green spaces in all types of Latino communities. A common theme across the research has ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary
U.S. Latinos report specific transportation challenges that arise due to the discrepancy between where Latinos live versus where they work. These challenges include transit fare affordability, reliability, and coverage.
Latinos Use Public Transit Frequently
According to the Pew Research Center, Americans who are lower-income, non-White, immigrants, or under 50 are most likely to use public transportation on a regular basis [39]. Among urban residents, 27% of Latinos use public transit daily or weekly, compared to 14% of non-Latino Whites, and foreign-born urban residents are 20% more likely to regularly use public transportation than native-born urban ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Summary
A pattern of Latino migration to small town and rural areas in the Southeast and Midwest instead of to traditional urban centers has led to the formation of isolated, segregated rural Latino communities with unique housing and transportation needs.
The Latino Population Shift: From Urban to Rural
Real estate and transportation trends have shown two prominent residential shifts among Latinos. First of all, in urban areas, Latinos are living farther from transport hubs and amenities, where housing is more affordable. Secondly, a large number of Latinos are migrating into new areas where jobs are available and rents are more affordable, primarily to ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latinos and Housing, Transportation, and Green Space: A Research Review » Abstract
Across the United States, Latino communities vary in affordable housing, safe and adequate transit, parks and open green space, and other elements that are necessary to fully thrive and achieve health equity. These differences in opportunity result in health disparities between different zip codes or census tracts—with poor health outcomes more prevalent in communities of color and low-income communities. It is perhaps even more critical to address these underlying social, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to health than to address the health disparities directly if we are to hope for long term changes in community health and ...
Where you live matters for health. However, Latinos face unaffordable housing, unreliable public transportation, and a lack of green space, which limits access to health-promoting assets. To drive solutions, Salud America! will unveil a new research review, “The State of Latino Housing, Transportation, and Green Space,” at the #SaludTues Tweetchat at 1 p.m. ET May 14, 2019. The new research review will cover the latest data on how differences in housing, transportation, green space opportunities contribute to health inequities among Latinos. The review also highlights strategies and policies to improve neighborhood health equity, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to achieve the best health possible. Join #SaludTues at 1 p.m. ET May 14, 2019, to tweet about the ...
