Take a Look at this Preview of an Upcoming Book Review: “A Companion to Transport, Space and Equity”, reviewed by Xavier Harmony

A Companion to Transport, Space and Equity, edited by Robin Hickman, Beatriz Mella Lira, Moshe Givoni and Karst Geurs, Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019

Reviewed by: Xavier Harmony, PhD student, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The issue of transportation equity plagues the profession; it is an issue entrenched in both institutions and transportation decisions. How can we better understand how people are affected by transportation inequality? How can we improve the way equity is accounted for in project selection? How can we advance the methods used to study inequality in transportation? A Companion to Transport, Space and Equity attempts to address these questions.

The book divides chapters into three overarching themes: the first section focuses on spatial impacts of inequality, the next section focuses on social impacts of inequality, and the last section focuses on emerging approaches to socio-spatial equity analysis. This last section is the book’s most significant contribution to transportation equity literature. One of the greatest benefits of this book is the diversity observed throughout. Chapters are both geographically diverse, with cases covering a dozen different countries, including developed and developing nations, but also methodologically diverse, featuring a range of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative. While the book encompasses many areas of equity, including gender (e.g. Chapter 11), age (e.g. Chapter 12), and income (throughout), there are two noticeable gaps. The book overlooks both racial inequality and inequality for people with disabilities, each only mentioned briefly.

Overall, this is a book primarily intended for researchers and academia. This volume could be useful for those wanting to learn about how transportation equity is analyzed and understood in a variety of contexts using a variety of methods. It is especially useful for those interested in newer approaches to understanding transportation equity. Despite some gaps, the book is a fair contribution to transportation equity literature.

Pages: 336

The full book review will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs.

The reviewer may be reached via e-mail at xjharmony@gmail.com.