Inclusive community selection for engagement in clean transportation initiatives: A multifaceted approach and case study

Community engagement is a critical step to developing clean, equitable transportation systems in the transition to a decarbonized transport sector. Understanding the needs of the people who will use and be affected by new transportation infrastructure and services can help inform the fair distribution of potential burdens and benefits. A diverse set of communities must be selected for engagement to ensure multiple perspectives are considered. There is a need for consistent processes to systematically ensure community selection is inclusive. Important community groups have been left out of engagement, leading to biases in the findings from engagement efforts and ultimately, contributing to the inequitable transportation system we see today. There is a need for careful efforts up-front to identify and elevate the voices of those who have been and continue to be underrepresented in engagement processes. In this paper, we present a multifaceted approach for the selection of communities for engagement in transportation programs and policies. The approach consists of three integrated components: building problem context, analyzing data, and understanding community dynamics. We discuss each component and the iterations between them and apply the approach to a case study in Sonoma County, California, focused on the equitable transition to electric vehicles. Conducting this approach as a dedicated workstream in Sonoma County resulted in a diverse set of communities for future engagement efforts. This approach offers a shift in the way engagement efforts are conducted to prioritize diverse perspectives and ultimately, equitable transportation systems.