Semester of Graduation

Spring 2021

Degree

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

School of Social Work

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Transportation systems are powerful tools, capable of entrenching existing inequalities or facilitating the pursuit of a more equitable society (Wellman, 2015). This is particularly true for urban areas that are plagued by sprawl, congestion, and racialized poverty like East Baton Rouge Parish. Transport-related social exclusion (TRSE) provides a framework for understand the relationship between access to transportation (or lack thereof, known as transport disadvantage) and individuals’ ability to participate in the economic, social, cultural, and political aspects of life (Kamruzzaman, Yigitcanlar, Yang, & Mohamed, 2016) Transport-related social exclusion is associated with numerous negative outcomes including poor mental and physical health, unemployment, and poverty (Levitas et al., 2007). While TRSE has long been applied to analyses of transportation access in large cities around the globe, it has not been applied to midsized urban areas. This study attempts to better understand the relationship between characteristics associated with transport disadvantage, transport-related social exclusion, and race in the context of a midsized urban area.

To accomplish this, I constructed indices that measure transport disadvantage and TRSE at the census tract level in East Baton Rouge Parish, tested for a correlation between the two , as well as with the indices and race, and I used ArcGIS to examine their spatial distribution in East Baton Rouge. I found a significant relationship between TRSE and transport disadvantage (r(90)=-0.222, p

These findings suggest that policy solutions that target TRSE should address areas of concentrated transport disadvantage by improving the supply of non-car transportation in those areas. It also suggests that transit-oriented development could ameliorate some of the negative impacts of TRSE. Future research on this topic could work on disentangling the complex relationship between TRSE, transport disadvantage, and race.

Committee Chair

Scott, Jennifer

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.5283

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