CEE’s Eleni Christofa and Eric Gonzales Work with State and Federal Agencies to Address Inequities in Access to Transportation

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Eric Gonzales and Eleni Christofa

Two preeminent transportation researchers – Associate Professors Eleni Christofa and Eric Gonzales of the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department – have been collaborating with a variety of state and federal agencies to create more sustainable, equitable, and safe transportation systems. Among other projects, both of the CEE researchers are contributing to a two-phase project to improve public health throughout Massachusetts, and Christofa is working to address transit-access inequities within the bus system of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). 

Christofa is the principal investigator (PI) of Phase I of the “Measuring Food Access to Improve Public Health” project funded by MassDOT with FHWA State Planning and Research funds. In addition to co-PI Gonzales, CEE graduate researchers Efthymia Kostopoulou and Tate Coleman have also been involved in this study. This first phase focused primarily on understanding transportation barriers to food access in the Commonwealth and providing recommendations to address inequities, especially for people who do not have access to cars.

As the four researchers explain, “Food accessibility is critical for a community’s health because the food environment can either promote or discourage a healthy diet, depending on the variety of products that are available.”

The researchers go on to say that “The total square footage of supermarkets that can be reached within a travel-time constraint [was proposed] as the measure of food access. The floor area of supermarkets serves as a proxy for the breadth of choice available at a supermarket, and the comparison of modes reveals the difference in food access for people who travel by means other than their own cars.” 

Christofa mentions that “In addition to considering access through multiple modes (driving, transit, walking, and biking), the uniqueness of this study stems from the fact that it combines spatial analysis and machine-learning methods with community engagement through focus groups with relevant stakeholders. This [approach] allowed us not only to take a detailed look at correlations between socioeconomic characteristics and access to food, but also enrich our understanding and include additional considerations when developing recommendations through discussions with affected communities.” 

As Gonzales further explains, “The models characterize patterns of food access across the state and reveal which communities have the lowest food access relative to other similar communities within the state. The results reveal food-access gaps in urban, suburban, and rural communities. This research provides a quantitative and systematic method to identify gaps in food access so that policy interventions can be targeted where the needs are greatest.”

The published report (here) summarizes the contributions of this study: “This work makes contributions in the methods used to measure the spatial aspects of food access and the analytic techniques used to quantify equity and identify food-access gaps. This study also makes the practical contribution of recommending policies and investments that can be implemented to improve food access in communities across Massachusetts.”

Phase II of this project is currently ongoing, led by Gonzales as the PI and Christofa as the co-PI. CEE graduate student researcher Jiewen Luo is also contributing to this project. The project expands previous work to explore access inequities to other critical destinations that have a direct impact on health outcomes (e.g., education, healthcare, and jobs). 

In addition, Phase II delves deeper into understanding how new transportation services, such as on-demand micro-transit, which offers door-to-door service rather than following a fixed route or schedule, contribute to access improvements and aim to quantify the impact of pedestrian and bicyclist connectivity and infrastructure on traveling experience and access.

Gonzales is also PI of a new project called “Safety and Public Health Impacts of Microtransit Services,” funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the New England University Transportation Center. The research will look at how people use flexible micro-transit, compared to conventional fixed-route transit, especially in rural and suburban communities.

In this context, there are potential safety and health benefits of microtransit associated with the reduced need to walk and wait along busy roads, thus making it easier for passengers to access economic, medical, and social opportunities. 

At the same time, Christofa leads another related project, titled “Connected Communities Through Equitable Transit,” in collaboration with PVTA and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. This project builds on previous work to understand transit-access inequities in the Pioneer Valley with the goal of improving the time and cost of traveling on PVTA vehicles to and from areas of persistent poverty. This project is funded by the Federal Transit Administration’s Areas of Persistent Poverty Program. 

This ongoing study explores racial and economic disparities by using spatial analysis, feedback from equity-based focus groups, and surveys in the Pioneer Valley. In addition, the study focuses on time-of-day, day-by-day, and seasonal analyses to ensure equitable access to critical destinations for all, regardless of the industry they work in (e.g., retail or healthcare jobs on shifts). Expected outcomes are specific transit-service recommendations that provide transit options that quickly connect underserved neighborhoods with critical destinations.

Christofa concludes that “We are excited to have the opportunity to contribute to access improvements for our most vulnerable populations through our research findings and identify practical solutions in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders.” 

As Gonzales adds, “These research projects are part of a broad effort to look at the role of transportation systems in supporting healthy, vibrant, and sustainable communities.” (April 2024)