The NOACA Board of Directors adopted the Agency’s Statement on Injustice and Inequity at its June 26, 2020 Special Board Meeting. The statement reads:
NOACA serves 2.1 million racially, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse people across a five county region in Northeast Ohio. Recent events of civil unrest underscore that racial justice remains a prominent issue yet to be fully addressed, but absolutely necessary in order to achieve an equitable society. The NOACA Board of Directors is aware of the consequences of historic racism and its legacy that has resulted in systemic racism, which is defined as a form of racism, intentional or unintentional, that is embedded as normal practice within society. Consistent with NOACA’s guiding mission and values, we are committed to doing our part to eradicate racism. We commit to justice and equity, taking a stand against the ongoing impacts of racism in our region and across the country. We unequivocally condemn racism, injustice and inequality.
Although NOACA has made advances toward achieving equity in its planning and resource allocation and has realized some success through the process of continuous improvement and best practices, to eradicate racism and its negative effects on our communities of color, we are committed to exploring, listening and learning to further address the impacts that racism may have in decision making and organizational practices. We are committed to understanding, evaluating and measuring how our policies and actions impact equity in our region. We will continue to embrace diversity, strive for equity, and seek inclusion in all our efforts; and, we will ensure that these actions remain explicit values that are always reflected as a core component of our work. We will commit to creating a Subcommittee of the Policy Committee and develop a plan to ensure racial equity is embedded in all of our work.
NOACA recognizes the historically inequitable results of transportation planning in Northeast Ohio and throughout the country, particularly the development of the highway system, which have facilitated and heightened racially segregated communities and disparate outcomes relative to mobility and access to opportunity. We are aware that there are still inequity implications across the region and nation. We will seek to better understand the root causes of racial disparities linked to transportation and the environment, such as development patterns, and promote a deeper awareness of their correlations, with the goal of eliminating them. We will be more comprehensive in our planning scope, focusing on the relationship of transportation and environmental planning to housing, land use, economic development and health outcomes. We intend to achieve planning solutions that are not only highly equitable but also help correct structural problems that perpetuate racial inequity.
NOACA is committed to being a leader in transforming our region into one where equity is achieved by creating access to opportunity through transportation and environmental planning, focusing on inclusive practices that empower all citizens in our region. We will apply an equity lens, with a specific focus on racial equity, to the important work that we do, and we will do it with intentionality and transparency. The resulting economic and social outcomes will create a healthier and more prosperous Northeast Ohio region for all.
Adopted by the Board of Directors: June 26, 2020
