When the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) wanted an independent assessment of the impact of major transportation projects on minority and low-income communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, they invited students in Temple University's Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) programs to conduct the study. 

As the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the nine-county region, DVRPC has overseen transportation planning and implementation in the region since 1965. Members of the two Temple teams summarized findings and recommendations from their semester-long course projects at the DVRPC's May 27 meeting. 

Entitled "Benefits and Burdens: Case Histories in Transportation Equity in the Philadelphia Region(link is external)," the 350-page, three-volume report assesses eight projects. The five-member MPP team examined the Vine Street Expressway, the Blue Route and the reconstruction of the Market-Frankford Line. The eight-member MCRP team analyzed Route 29, PATCO and the Direct Connection in New Jersey and Route 422 and the Schuylkill Valley Trail in Pennsylvania.

The students found that although the projects benefitted the region generally, they often imposed disproportionate burdens on minority communities. They recommended steps to mitigate the burdens of the past and to improve equity outcomes in the future.

A link to the full report is here. The student MPP and MCRP teams are listed below.

• Annalise Felicien, MPP '21
• Kareem Groomes, MPP '21
• Brandon Lamberty, MPP '21 
• Lucas Oshman, MPP '21
• Kasey Trapp, MPP Fall '21 
• Claire Adler, MCRP 
• Andrew Halt, MCRP 
• Olivia Lamborn, MCRP 
• Mark Morley, MCRP 
• Christopher Mulroy, MCRP 
• Anne Nygard, MCRP 
• Rena Pinhas, MCRP 
• Adam Schantz, MCRP