Inequality and the Future of Electric Mobility in 36 U.S. Cities: An Innovative Methodology and Comparative Assessment

Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Wilson, Alana; Zimny-Schmitt, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.erss.2022.102760

Inequality and the Future of Electric Mobility in 36 U.S. Cities: An Innovative Methodology and Comparative Assessment

Journal Article · 03 August 2022 · Energy Research & Social Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102760· OSTI ID:1883211

; ; Zimny-Schmitt, Daniel

Electric vehicles are seen as one of the technological solutions to transition our transportation systems away from carbon, and cities offer unique opportunities to electrify transportation. To be equitable, however, this transition will not merely require technological innovations. Acknowledging socio-spatial inequalities and creating strategies to address them are critical - yet relatively underexplored - dimensions of the transportation transition. This paper integrates relevant literature into a micro-urban social typology (MUST) approach that uses agglomerative clustering techniques to examine, first, the factors and attributes defining transportation inequities within 36 U.S. cities, and, second, the implications of these inequities for policies that foster a more equitable transportation transition. By combining socio-spatial and transportation data, we identified five MUSTs: Wealthy, Urban Disadvantaged, Urban Renters, Middle-Class Homeowners, and Rural/Exurban. Rather than being tied to any particular indicator (e.g., homeownership), these MUSTs contain intersecting factors and features of inequities. We compare transportation and health outcomes across MUSTs, and the results suggest that user-centric strategies and public investments are necessary to foster true transportation equity. These must go beyond the electrification of private vehicles and should be tailored to the specific characteristics of each MUST. These could include electric carpooling for the rural/exurban MUST and electrification of transit for the urban disadvantaged and renter MUSTs. Our typology offers a critical next step toward informing transportation transition policies to target critical sociodemographic, economic, and techno-infrastructural factors.

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)

DOE Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1883211

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5400-77749; MainId:30664; UUID:509feeb6-5039-4c25-abf6-33f7ec38cf49; MainAdminID:65163

Journal Information:: Energy Research & Social Science, Journal Name: Energy Research & Social Science Vol. 91

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (67)

Examining urban inequality and vulnerability to enhance resilience: insights from Mumbai, India Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Gnatz, Daniel M.; Sperling, Joshua B. Climatic Change, Vol. 139, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1813-z	journal	October 2016
Assessing the barriers to equity in smart mobility systems: A case study of Portland, Oregon Golub, Aaron; Satterfield, Vivian; Serritella, Michael Case Studies on Transport Policy, Vol. 7, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2019.10.002	journal	December 2019
Metropolitan density, energy efficiency and carbon emissions: Multi-attribute tradeoffs and their policy implications Clark, Thomas A. Energy Policy, Vol. 53 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.11.006	journal	February 2013
Overcoming Spatial Mismatch: The Opportunities and Limits of Transit Mode in Addressing the Black–White Unemployment Gap Covington, Kenya L. City & Community, Vol. 17, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/cico.12278	journal	March 2018
Urban transport justice Gössling, Stefan Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 54 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.05.002	journal	June 2016
Ambient Air Pollution Exposure Estimation for the Global Burden of Disease 2013 Brauer, Michael; Freedman, Greg; Frostad, Joseph Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03709	journal	December 2015
Understanding The Cumulative Impacts Of Inequalities In Environmental Health: Implications For Policy Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Zuk, Miriam; Jerrett, Michael Health Affairs, Vol. 30, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0153	journal	May 2011
Post carbon pathways: A meta-analysis of 18 large-scale post carbon economy transition strategies Wiseman, John; Edwards, Taegen; Luckins, Kate Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2013.04.001	journal	September 2013
Sizing up transport poverty: A national scale accounting of low-income households suffering from inaccessibility in Canada, and what to do about it Allen, Jeff; Farber, Steven Transport Policy, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2018.11.018	journal	February 2019
The dimensions of global urban expansion: Estimates and projections for all countries, 2000–2050 Angel, Shlomo; Parent, Jason; Civco, Daniel L. Progress in Planning, Vol. 75, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progress.2011.04.001	journal	February 2011
Sociotechnical transitions for deep decarbonization Geels, Frank W.; Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Schwanen, Tim Science, Vol. 357, Issue 6357 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao3760	journal	September 2017
Trends and Directions in Environmental Justice: From Inequity to Everyday Life, Community, and Just Sustainabilities Agyeman, Julian; Schlosberg, David; Craven, Luke Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 41, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-090052	journal	November 2016
Access or Accessibility? A Critique of the Urban Transport SDG Indicator Brussel, Mark; Zuidgeest, Mark; Pfeffer, Karin ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, Vol. 8, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8020067	journal	January 2019
Space and scale in socio-technical transitions Raven, Rob; Schot, Johan; Berkhout, Frans Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Vol. 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2012.08.001	journal	September 2012
The role of utilities in developing low carbon, electric megacities Kennedy, Chris; Stewart, Iain D.; Facchini, Angelo Energy Policy, Vol. 106 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.02.047	journal	July 2017
Accessibility and the journey to work through the lens of equity Cui, Boer; Boisjoly, Geneviève; El-Geneidy, Ahmed Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 74 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.12.003	journal	January 2019
Testing Theories to Explore the Drivers of Cities' Atmospheric Emissions Lankao, Patricia Romero; Tribbia, John L.; Nychka, Doug AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, Vol. 38, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-38.4.236	journal	June 2009
Conceptualizing urban water security in an urbanizing world Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Gnatz, Daniel M. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Vol. 21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2016.11.002	journal	August 2016
Vulnerability to motor fuel price increases: Socio-spatial patterns in England Mattioli, Giulio; Philips, Ian; Anable, Jillian Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 78 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2019.05.009	journal	June 2019
Redlining and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation Hillier, Amy E. Journal of Urban History, Vol. 29, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144203029004002	journal	May 2003
Transit-Induced Gentrification: Who Will Stay, and Who Will Go? Dawkins, Casey; Moeckel, Rolf Housing Policy Debate, Vol. 26, Issue 4-5 https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2016.1138986	journal	April 2016
Does urban sprawl hold down upward mobility? Ewing, Reid; Hamidi, Shima; Grace, James B. Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 148 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.11.012	journal	April 2016
The influence of the built environment on household vehicle travel by the urban typology in Calgary, Canada Choi, Kwangyul Cities, Vol. 75 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.01.006	journal	May 2018
Urban ecosystems and the North American carbon cycle Pataki, D. E.; Alig, R. J.; Fung, A. S. Global Change Biology, Vol. 12, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01242.x	journal	November 2006
Neighbourhood Diversity, Metropolitan Segregation and Gentrification: What Are the Links in the US? Freeman, Lance Urban Studies, Vol. 46, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098009339426	journal	August 2009
Transport and social exclusion in London Church, A.; Frost, M.; Sullivan, K. Transport Policy, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-070X(00)00024-X	journal	July 2000
Economic growth, energy, and environmental Kuznets curve Özokcu, Selin; Özdemir, Özlem Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 72 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.01.059	journal	May 2017
The effect of population density, road network density, and congestion on household gasoline consumption in U.S. urban areas Su, Qing Energy Economics, Vol. 33, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2010.11.005	journal	May 2011
Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now? Lucas, Karen Transport Policy, Vol. 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.01.013	journal	March 2012
Urban Heat Stress Vulnerability in the U.S. Southwest: The Role of Sociotechnical Systems Pincetl, Stephanie; Chester, Mikhail; Eisenman, David Sustainability, Vol. 8, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.3390/su8090842	journal	August 2016
Urban Sustainability and Resilience: From Theory to Practice Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Gnatz, Daniel; Wilhelmi, Olga Sustainability, Vol. 8, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/su8121224	journal	November 2016
The Causes of Metropolitan Suburbanization Mieszkowski, Peter; Mills, Edwin S. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.7.3.135	journal	August 1993
A critical knowledge pathway to low‐carbon, sustainable futures: Integrated understanding of urbanization, urban areas, and carbon Romero‐Lankao, Patricia; Gurney, Kevin R.; Seto, Karen C. Earth's Future, Vol. 2, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014EF000258	journal	October 2014
Energy Injustice and Nordic Electric Mobility: Inequality, Elitism, and Externalities in the Electrification of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Transport Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Kester, Johannes; Noel, Lance Ecological Economics, Vol. 157 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.013	journal	March 2019
The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: Responses to seven criticisms Geels, Frank W. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002	journal	June 2011
Exploration of health risks related to air pollution and temperature in three Latin American cities Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Qin, Hua; Borbor-Cordova, Mercy Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 83 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.01.009	journal	April 2013
Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: An analysis of consumer attitudes and perceptions Egbue, Ona; Long, Suzanna Energy Policy, Vol. 48 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.06.009	journal	September 2012
Historic Redlining and Urban Health Today in U.S. Cities Nardone, Anthony; Chiang, Joey; Corburn, Jason Environmental Justice, Vol. 13, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2020.0011	journal	August 2020
Just transition: Integrating climate, energy and environmental justice McCauley, Darren; Heffron, Raphael Energy Policy, Vol. 119 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.04.014	journal	August 2018
Describing the users: Understanding adoption of and interest in shared, electrified, and automated transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area Spurlock, C. Anna; Sears, James; Wong-Parodi, Gabrielle Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 71 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.01.014	journal	June 2019
Racial Discrimination and Redlining in Cities Zenou, Yves; Boccard, Nicolas Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 48, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1999.2166	journal	September 2000
The justice and equity implications of the clean energy transition Carley, Sanya; Konisky, David M. Nature Energy, Vol. 5, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-0641-6	journal	June 2020
Of actors, cities and energy systems: advancing the transformative potential of urban electrification Romero-Lankao, Patricia; Wilson, Alana; Sperling, Joshua Progress in Energy, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/2516-1083/abfa25	journal	May 2021
A methodology to develop a geospatial transportation typology Popovich, Natalie; Spurlock, C. Anna; Needell, Zachary Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 93 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103061	journal	May 2021
Postrecession Gentrification in New York City Hackworth, Jason Urban Affairs Review, Vol. 37, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1177/107874037006003	journal	July 2002
Urban density and the metabolic reach of metropolitan areas: A panel analysis of per capita transportation emissions at the county-level Ergas, Christina; Clement, Matthew; McGee, Julius Social Science Research, Vol. 58 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2016.03.002	journal	July 2016
Rail-transit-induced gentrification and the affordability paradox of TOD Dong, Hongwei Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 63 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.07.001	journal	July 2017
Identifying environmental justice communities for transportation analysis Rowangould, Dana; Karner, Alex; London, Jonathan Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 88 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.04.002	journal	June 2016
Causal identification of transit-induced gentrification and spatial spillover effects: The case of the Denver light rail Bardaka, Eleni; Delgado, Michael S.; Florax, Raymond J. G. M. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 71 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.06.025	journal	July 2018
A novel global urban typology framework for sustainable mobility futures Oke, Jimi B.; Aboutaleb, Youssef M.; Akkinepally, Arun Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 14, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab22c7	journal	September 2019
Is There a Metropolitan Bias? The relationship between poverty and city size in a selection of developing countries Ferré, Céline; Ferreira, Francisco H. G.; Lanjouw, Peter The World Bank Economic Review, Vol. 26, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhs007	journal	January 2012
The relationship between urban form and station boardings for Bogotá’s BRT Estupiñán, Nicolás; Rodríguez, Daniel A. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 42, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2007.10.006	journal	February 2008
Global typology of urban energy use and potentials for an urbanization mitigation wedge Creutzig, Felix; Baiocchi, Giovanni; Bierkandt, Robert Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1315545112	journal	January 2015
The heterogeneity and change in the urban structure of metropolitan areas in the United States, 1990–2010 Leyk, Stefan; Balk, Deborah; Jones, Bryan Scientific Data, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0329-6	journal	December 2019
Spatial Distribution of U.S. Household Carbon Footprints Reveals Suburbanization Undermines Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Urban Population Density Jones, Christopher; Kammen, Daniel M. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1021/es4034364	journal	January 2014
Emerging Urbanization in the Southern Andes Romero, Hugo; Ordenes, Fernando Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 24, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1659/0276-4741(2004)024[0197:EUITSA]2.0.CO;2	journal	August 2004
A Comparison of Urban Population Density Functions in Developed and Developing Countries Mills, Edwin S.; Tan, Jee Peng Urban Studies, Vol. 17, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/00420988020080621	journal	October 1980
Questions of governance: Rethinking the study of transportation policy Marsden, Greg; Reardon, Louise Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 101 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2017.05.008	journal	July 2017
Equity, environmental justice and sustainability: incomplete approaches in climate change politics Ikeme, Jekwu Global Environmental Change, Vol. 13, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-3780(03)00047-5	journal	October 2003
Assessing air quality and health benefits of the Clean Truck Program in the Alameda corridor, CA Lee, Gunwoo; You, Soyoung (Iris); Ritchie, Stephen G. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 46, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2012.05.005	journal	October 2012
An early look at plug-in electric vehicle adoption in disadvantaged communities in California Canepa, Kathryn; Hardman, Scott; Tal, Gil Transport Policy, Vol. 78 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.03.009	journal	June 2019
Impacts of built environment and emerging green technologies on daily transportation greenhouse gas emissions in Quebec cities: a disaggregate modeling approach Zahabi, Seyed Amir H.; Miranda-Moreno, Luis; Patterson, Zachary Transportation, Vol. 44, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-015-9631-0	journal	July 2015
Greenhouse gas emissions and urban form: Linking households’ socio-economic status with housing and transportation choices Des Rosiers, François; Thériault, Marius; Biba, Gjin Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1177/0265813516656862	journal	June 2016
The demographics of decarbonizing transport: The influence of gender, education, occupation, age, and household size on electric mobility preferences in the Nordic region Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Kester, Johannes; Noel, Lance Global Environmental Change, Vol. 52 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.06.008	journal	September 2018
The effect of transportation policies on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission from urban passenger transportation Poudenx, Pascal Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 42, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2008.01.013	journal	July 2008
Environmental inequality: Air pollution exposures in California's South Coast Air Basin Marshall, Julian D. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 42, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.02.005	journal	July 2008
The role of urban form and transit in city car dependence: Analysis of 26 global cities from 1960 to 2000 McIntosh, James; Trubka, Roman; Kenworthy, Jeff Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 33 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2014.08.013	journal	December 2014

Similar Records

Linking transportation agent-based model ($\mathrm{ABM}$) outputs with micro-urban social types ($\mathrm{MUSTs}$) via typology transfer for improved community relevance

Journal Article · 2023 · Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives · OSTI ID:1923873

A Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Travel Time Gap and Inequality between Public Transportation and Personal Vehicles

Conference · 2024 · OSTI ID:2376348

Of Actors, Cities and Energy Systems: Advancing the Transformative Potential of Urban Electrification

Journal Article · 2021 · Progress in Energy · OSTI ID:1886867

Related Subjects

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
clustering techniques
electric vehicle adoption
socio-spatial inequality
urban sustainability

Inequality and the Future of Electric Mobility in 36 U.S. Cities: An Innovative Methodology and Comparative Assessment

Citation Formats

References (67)

Similar Records

Related Subjects