Leadership Case Study: Advancing Mobility Justice Through Strategic Partnership
Context
We partnered with a community-based advocacy organization to address urgent pedestrian safety concerns disproportionately impacting Black and Brown neighborhoods. These concerns were not abstract. They were rooted in repeated incidents of serious injury and loss of life affecting community members traveling to and from school and neighborhood spaces.
At one point, multiple fatal traffic incidents occurred in close proximity to school sites within a short period of time. The harm was immediate and deeply felt. Daily routines were disrupted, fear and grief spread throughout the community, and the urgency of the situation demanded both care and action.
The work required collaboration across community advocates, educators, organizational leadership, and local government partners, including engagement with city-level decision makers responsible for infrastructure, public safety, and policy.
The Challenge
Pedestrian safety was not simply a technical issue. It was a justice issue tied to infrastructure neglect, enforcement disparities, and whose lives were protected or ignored in Black and Brown communities.
Leadership faced the challenge of responding to acute community trauma while also addressing long-standing systemic conditions. There was a need to hold space for grief and collective care while simultaneously building the strategy, language, and partnerships necessary to push for meaningful change.
The moment demanded steadiness, humility, and clarity. Decisions needed to honor lived experience without rushing to symbolic gestures or performative responses.
Our Work
We partnered with organizational leadership and community advocates in a strategic, collaborative effort that centered dignity, care, and justice while advancing practical action.
This work included:
Supporting leadership in responding to acute community harm with steadiness and integrity
Partnering with community advocates to co-develop a justice-centered curriculum focused on pedestrian safety and mobility justice
Aligning organizational strategy with community-defined priorities and policy realities
Translating complex infrastructure, policy, and governance dynamics into accessible, action-oriented learning for advocates
Supporting engagement with local decision makers by strengthening messaging, framing, and strategic clarity
Facilitating community gatherings that honored loss, created space for collective mourning, and reinforced shared responsibility
The work intentionally balanced immediate response with longer-term capacity building, recognizing that lasting change requires both care and sustained strategy.
The Outcome
Community advocates were equipped with shared language, frameworks, and strategies to address pedestrian safety through a mobility justice lens. Leaders strengthened their ability to partner with community in ways that were accountable, respectful, and grounded in lived experience.
Through sustained advocacy and strategic engagement with local decision makers, the work led to tangible safety improvements near school sites, including enhanced crosswalks and upgraded traffic signaling serving multiple campuses. These changes reflected the combined impact of community voice, disciplined leadership, and justice-centered strategy.
The effort supported both collective healing and durable systems change, reinforcing trust, improving safety, and laying the groundwork for continued engagement and accountability.