Embedding equity into decision-making: What we learned at Steer’s latest Rethink Rooms

Thank you to all our speakers and more than 180 attendees at Steer’s latest session of the Rethink Rooms ‘Embedding equity into decision-making’.

In a fascinating webinar that spanned the globe we learned about embedding equity in every stage of the planning process from research to implementation. We heard about the deep-rooted causes of transit inequity as well as seeing real world examples of plans to create more equitable cities.

We’re happy that our panellists Sadie Graham, Program Director for Link21, Diana Rodriguez Franco, Secretary of Women's Affairs in Bogota, Karen Lucas, Professor of Human Geography, University of Manchester and Georges Darido, Lead Urban Transport Specialist, World Bank shared their expertise and insights on their successes and lessons learned towards achieving equity outcomes . Our key takeaways are below:

Inequity is everywhere but solutions are locally specific: Our panellists (and we at Steer) have learned the patterns of inequity through their work. Gaps on the ability to access employment and community services based on gender, income, and race, to name a few, present themselves but addressing them requires context specific solutions. There are no blanket cures for inequity and each case will be different and rooted in a local context.

Achieving equity needs the integration of methodologies, tools and lived experience: Inequity is intersectional, multifactorial and can be impacted in different ways by different root causes. Mapping inequity and its causes to ensure you know how a project will impact communities requires delving into the different individual, social, economic, political and cultural factors that shape people's day-to-day lives. Building this rich picture is also essential to bring lived experience as well as data into your understanding.

Silos hinder action: To reduce inequities we need to engage in whole systems thinking. Will an infrastructure project have a negative effect on low-income riders? What’s the point of building an accessible train station if those with disabilities can’t get there? Should you implement private vehicle charging infrastructure or electrify buses? Examining things in the round will not only help to identify problems but also solutions by bringing together stakeholders and agencies.

Recognition is the first step to meaningful progress: Recognizing past harms caused by well-intentioned projects and the potential for a project to replicate past or current inequities is fundamental to making progress. Recognition allows us to learn lessons and find locally specific solutions and relevant examples from other geographies, projects and research.

We need to find the win-wins: In political, academic, and public discourse in general, information and issues are often presented as dichotomies. There can be an impression that some actions are prioritized while others are sacrificed, even though all actions might be necessary for achieving equity outcomes. Solving problems of inequity must involve looking for solutions that are win-wins. During our panel for example, the use of existing infrastructure to provide a more complete set of benefits was mentioned as a key enabler of success. This kind of thinking is exactly what we need!

Watch the event recording