Caltrans Transportation Equity Index (EQI)
Background
As stated in the Caltrans Equity Statement, the California Department of Transportation acknowledges that communities of color and under-served communities experienced fewer benefits and a greater share of negative impacts associated with our state's transportation system. Some of these disparities reflect a history of transportation decision-making, policy, processes, planning, design, and construction that "quite literally put-up barriers, divided communities, and amplified racial inequities, particularly in our Black and Brown neighborhoods." Many tools exist to evaluate various factors that potentially burden communities, but these tools typically consider a wide range of factors and aren’t specifically focused on transportation.
Development
Faced with the need to better define equity problems and solutions, Caltrans began developing the EQI in 2020. The Department has held numerous public and internal discussions covering indicators, thresholds, geographies, and other issues related to the tool. The beta version is still under development and subject to additional revisions, but the conversation is turning from the construction of the tool to its deployment. The Department plans to release the 1.0 version of the tool in mid-2023 and to focus on use cases through the rest of the year.
Events
| Date | Event Title | Event Details |
|---|---|---|
| TBD | EQI 1.0 Launch | This session will launch version 1.0 of the Caltrans Equity Index. The development team will discuss the purpose and parameters of the tool, provide a demonstration of EQI 1.0, and highlight key updates that were made to the beta version. More details to come. |
| TBD | Information Session 4: Use Case Presentations | This session will present draft use cases and answer clarifying questions about the potential application of the tool. |
| Date | Event Title | Event Details |
|---|---|---|
| April 25, 2023
11 am - 12 pm |
Information Session 3: Methodology & Technical Development |
This session provided a comprehensive overview of the EQI's methodology and technical development. |
| March 28, 2023
11 am - 12 pm |
Information Session 2: Beta Update |
This session provided an update on what developments have been made since the September 2022 preview of the tool. |
| March 10, 2023
1:40 - 3 pm |
UC Institute of Transportation Studies Seminar Series |
The UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies hosts weekly seminars during the academic year on pertinent transportation topics. In this installment, Caltrans staff presented an overview of the tool and its potential application. |
| September 8, 2022
9 - 10 am |
Information Session 1: Beta EQI Introduction |
This session introduced the beta version of the EQI, discussed the methodology, and previewed potential applications of the tool. |