Two-dozen scholars and practitioners gathered on January 12 at UMD’s Center for Art and Knowledge at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., for a roundtable discussion exploring the intersections between transportation justice, student travel and educational equity. “School choice,” by which families opt to send their children to schools other than those assigned to them according to place of residence, has emerged as a popular alternative to traditional public education. However, if students are unable to travel to school reliably, affordably and conveniently, school choice is not something all families can take advantage of.
Organized by the UMD Urban Studies and Planning program’s Assistant Professor Ariel Bierbaum, the discussion focused on sharing current research about transportation equity and education equity; discussing how transportation justice frameworks can support and be supported by research on student travel; and setting a research agenda while identifying opportunities for collaboration.
“The roundtable successfully created space for a generative conversation among education and transportation researchers,” Bierbaum said. “We tend to work in our silos, so these opportunities for cross-sector conversations are few and far between. I am confident that the agenda-setting and relationships that emerged from the day are a constructive start to ongoing multidisciplinary work centered on families and the principles of education and transportation equity and justice.”