Building on regional research, this project acknowledged that reducing drive-alone mode share is not always the primary need or solution for communities of color in the Portland region. This project worked with residents and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to build a program that helped the communities of Rosewood and Cornelius access transportation options and improve their experience while using these options.
This project engaged residents through workshops that gathered input and offered residents custom multilingual educational resources and trainings, including a transportation training, a train-the-trainer program, and a transit empowerment training. Residents speaking a variety of languages, including Spanish, Rohinga, Bhutanese, and English participated in the community workshops, and community partners have hosted three transportation trainings since the launch of the campaign.
For each community, Alta developed custom, multilingual print resources, including a community map, a Hop Card and transit fare guide, tips for riding transit with kids, and a transit tools and apps cheat sheet. Alta also developed a custom transportation training for each community, based on community feedback on topics of interest and tailored to each CBO’s needs.
Two CBOs, the Rosewood Initiative and Centro Cultural, were instrumental in these campaigns, as the organizations already serve as community hubs for learning, health, social activities, and more—therefore they are the most appropriate sources for transportation information. With their involvement and their leadership, program resources were able to reach residents effectively.