In early 2023, Data Clinic launched TREC (Transit Resilience for Essential Commuting), an open source tool that shares data-informed insights on the intersectional impact of climate change on public transit and essential service access as part of the Census Bureau’s The Opportunity Project Summit. We started by focusing on the impact of flooding on transit in two cities in the US before adding five other cities to the tool in summer 2023.
A year from the launch, we are now excited to announce that we have expanded TREC to cover over 50 of the largest metro areas in the US, looking at the impact of climate risks including flooding, extreme heat, and wildfires on transit for vulnerable communities. We’re looking forward to discussing this tool and how data can bring an environmental justice lens to climate resiliency planning in transit more broadly in a panel at SXSW on March 15th.
Using insights from the data on TREC, we see that on average, transit stops serving vulnerable commuters are twice as likely to be affected by high climate risks. We hope that by making this data available to transit agencies, climate resiliency planners, and community organizations, we can contribute towards building a more resilient and equitable transit network across the country. Keep an eye out for more insights like these from TREC in the near future.
