Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please: Transit Equity, Social Exclusion, and the New York City Subway

Author

Taylor Novick-Finder, Pitzer CollegeFollow

Graduation Year

2017

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Susan Phillips

Reader 2

Lance Neckar

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2017 Taylor E Novick-Finder

Abstract

The history of transportation planning in New York City has created disparities between those who have sufficient access to the public transportation network, and those who face structural barriers to traveling from their home to education, employment, and healthcare opportunities. This thesis analyzes the legacy of discriminatory policy surrounding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and city and state governments that have failed to support vital infrastructure improvement projects and service changes to provide multi-modal welfare to New York’s working poor. By exploring issues of transit equity as they pertain to the New York City subway system, this thesis raises the question: which communities lack adequate access to public transit opportunity and what are the policies and historical developments that have created these inequities? Through examination of grassroots community-based movements towards social justice and transportation equity, this thesis will review the proposals, campaigns, and demands that citizen-driven organizations have fought for in New York City. These movements, I argue, are the most effective method to achieve greater transportation justice and intergenerational equity.

Recommended Citation

Novick-Finder, Taylor, "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please: Transit Equity, Social Exclusion, and the New York City Subway" (2017). Pitzer Senior Theses. 78.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/78