Incorporating health equity measures and policies into local transportation system plans and the regional transit improvement plan in the Portland, OR metropolitan region

This presentation will describe Upstream Public Health's work to promote health equity through transportation planning in the Portland, OR metropolitan region. Two cities in the region, Portland and Gresham, are in the process of updating their Transportation System Plan. This plan is generally updated every 4-5 years and is a plan for transportation investment over the next 20 years. Upstream Public Health has developed a set of Transportation Health Equity Principles and is working with local transportation planners to support these principles through changes in the way that transportation projects are planned, prioritized, and implemented. Because the cities of Portland Gresham have very different population demographics, existing infrastructure, and political culture, we have carefully tailored our approach to better reflect each city's specific needs.

Upstream Public Health is also working with a local grassroots environmental justice organizations to train citizen activists to participate in the regional Transit Investment Plan (TIP) update. The TIP is a five-year, rolling plan, so we are working to build community capacity to stay engaged in the planning process in the long run.

The presentation will include a description of: the impacts of transportation planning and projects on health equity; existing opportunities to influence local and regional transportation planning to promote health equity; lessons learned working in partnership with government and other non-profit agencies; national and local tools and evidence that Upstream relied on to inform decision-makers and advocates; and the successes and barriers to success that Upstream and partners experienced in efforts to institutionalize health equity as a priority in transportation planning and projects.