Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice, as concerning Transportation Planning, is the assurance that all segments of the population recieve equal opportunities and access to providing input to the transportation planning process; as well as for no segment of the community receiving an undue burden, or benefit, in related projects

The Indianapolis MPO has always had a policy to engage all segments of the region in the transportation planning process. Some of the methods the MPO has used to acheive this goal has been to develop a mailing list to distribute TeMPO, the official MPO Newsletter, and other documents as needed. For significant studies the MPO and consultants have developed targeted mailing lists of up to 25,000 addresses in the region to assure an adequate percentage of the population received study related information.

The MPO has not confined it's efforts to traditional mailing lists, for several years the MPO has advertised on the local National Public Radio and talk radio stations, as well as filming public information pieces for local television. Meetings have been held with local neighborhood and other organizations as needed in order to help bring information to specific neighborhoods.

Aside from these general public involvement avenues that aim to target all segments of the region's population, the MPO has developed a specific Environmental Justice Program. Phase I was the Community Inclusion Project.

Community Inclusion Project was an experiment in one approach to address environmental justice and to provide information to segments of the community who may not have had easy access to such information. One of the problems that became apparent with this particular format was simply that of scale.

This particular format did serve the neighborhood organizations in Marion County, however the Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) goes beyond Marion County  and incorporates 35 communities and jurisdictions.  Much was learned in Phase I, and currently the MPO is developing a forum that will reach the full MPA.

Information will be posted here on the evolving EJ activities of the MPO as available, so check back often!

For more information on the MPO's Environmental Justice efforts, please contact MPO Assistant Manager Philip Roth.