Functional analysis of web-based GIS tools for environmental justice assessment of transportation projects

Environmental justice – the concept that environmental amenities and burdens should be shared equitably among all races and socioeconomic classes – has gained diplomatic traction internationally, and political traction domestically in the United States, in recent years. In this paper, we focus on developing federal policy relevant to transportation project planning and operation in the U.S.; however, these developments reflect international issues of inequity associated with climate change and environmental burdens. First, we provide an overview of federal policy initiatives related to environmental justice, including President Biden's Justice40 initiative. Then, we examine the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as a potential avenue for mandating environmental justice assessment in the transportation industry, through the lenses of both procedural and distributive justice. Finally, we review several publicly available online Geographical Information System (GIS) tools that were recently developed for purposes of expanding public and governmental understanding of environmental justice challenges, and provide decision support for users to incorporate these tools into the environmental impact assessment process for transportation projects.