ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the demographics that shape demand for urban transportation accessibility and mobility, especially as they have been shaped over time by racial and ethnic discrimination and segregation. The realities of racism and social injustice shaped—and continue to shape—urban form in which transportation access and mobility are fundamental personal and group needs in the United States. The chapter provides the context and background about the winners and losers that result from inequitable transportation policies and planning. Population growth and resulting geographic expansion are facets of metropolitan development patterns that influence the demand for transportation services. In the debate over the impacts of urban sprawl, social equity consequences have received relatively little attention. Urban distress also has been seen as a major force behind population dispersal and sprawl. The vast majority of Americans rely on cars to meet their transportation needs.
