Incorporating equity considerations in transport infrastructure evaluation: Current practice and a proposed...

Area of Science:

• Transportation economics
• Infrastructure appraisal
• Social equity analysis

Background:

• Growing interest in integrating equity into transport project appraisal, particularly for large road infrastructure.
• Existing methods face theoretical and practical challenges in addressing equity concerns.
• Current European practices for equity appraisal in transport are reviewed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel theoretical framework for incorporating equity considerations in transport project appraisal.
• To address existing difficulties in both theoretical and practical aspects of equity appraisal.
• To provide a decision-support tool that accommodates diverse equity principles and types.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of current equity appraisal practices in European transport.
• Development of a theoretical framework based on the Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).
• Comparison of the proposed MCA-AHP framework with a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) approach.

Main Results:

• The proposed MCA-AHP framework offers a structured method for evaluating equity in transport projects.
• Decision-makers can differentiate project choices based on specific equity principles and types.
• The framework allows for assessing decision-makers' equity perspectives against project objectives and impacts.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework serves as a valuable additional support tool for transport project appraisal.
• It enhances the ability of decision-makers to consider equity in project selection.
• The framework has potential applications for evaluators beyond the transport sector.