Understanding the role of community and expert knowledge in assessing local impacts of transportation infrastructure

Major U.S. freight gateways, where ports, railyards, or border facilities are located, have social, economic, and health implications for host communities that are frequently comprised of marginalized, low-income persons of color. Decision-making for new or significant modification of transportation infrastructure requires public engagement processes enabling community members to assess risks and make development recommendations. To understand how information is shared in this process, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with approximately 25 community members and 25 policymakers and planners in Detroit, Michigan and Long Beach, California related to Detroit's proposed New International Trade Crossing and the Port of Long Beach. Researchers systematically focus-coded interview data. Findings highlight facilitators and challenges to public engagement, particularly related to the exchange of information between decision-makers and the host community. Common facilitators include accessible project staff; documents in multiple languages; public forums to learn from others' inquiries; and structures for engagement, such as advisory boards. Common challenges entail the technical nature and length of documents; misconceptions about decision-making processes and varying roles of project staff and legislators; competing economic priorities; inconsistency across government agencies; and skepticism predicated on outcomes of previous public engagement experiences. In addition to institutional data sources used to inform decisions, community-driven science, such as the collection of air quality data through ‘bucket brigades' and observational surveys of commercial truck traffic on residential streets, is described. While these findings are context-specific, they offer lessons for policymakers and residents to improve transportation decision-making at case sites and, potentially, other regions of the U.S.