Transportation equity · Mobility justice
Alex Karner, PhD
Associate Professor · The University of Texas at Austin
I study how transportation planning can advance equity and mobility justice—and work with communities to put that knowledge into practice.
Research, in practice
Four connected areas. Each links to a contribution that puts the ideas to work.
Access & accessibility
Practical ways to measure whether people can reach the destinations they need to live meaningful, dignified lives.
Read NCHRP Report 1000 ↗Transportation equity & mobility justice
Justice grounded in civil rights, power, and lived experience, alongside the distribution of transportation’s benefits and burdens.
From Transportation Equity to Transportation Justice ↗Transportation advocacy & social movements
How riders, workers, and coalitions organize to shape public transit decisions and investment.
All Aboard: Light Rail & Mobility Justice ↗Research policy & the state of transportation science
How institutions, funding, and political pressures shape research and the production of knowledge.
U.S. Transportation Research at a Crossroads ↗Current sponsored projects
Three ongoing collaborations with the City of Austin.
Housing Opportunity Index
We are updating Austin’s Housing Opportunity Index to guide affordable housing investments. Combining spatial analysis with community perspectives, the project examines access to everyday destinations and identifies neighborhood needs that public policy can address.
Explore the project ↗Displacement early warning system
We are developing a predictive model to identify areas at risk of renter displacement before it occurs. The project evaluates frequently updated local data to help City staff recognize emerging pressures and act earlier to support residents.
Weatherization and indoor heat
We are studying whether weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades reduce indoor heat exposure and improve comfort in low-income single-family homes in Austin’s Eastern Crescent. The study combines indoor sensor measurements, electricity use, and resident surveys to inform heat resilience programs.
Selected scholarship
More publications in the CV →- 2025
- 2025
- 2025
Reports & earlier projects
- NCHRP Report 1000: Accessibility Measures in Practice
- TCRP Research Report 236: Racial Equity, Black America, and Public Transportation
- ATX Transit Report
- A comprehensive transit accessibility and equity dashboard
- Living on a fare: Modeling and quantifying the effects of fare budgets on transit access and equity
- People-focused and near-term public transit performance analysis
- Toward mobility justice
- From transportation equity to transportation justice
Working with communities
I collaborate with community members, nonprofits, and public-interest law firms to identify pressing research needs and improve conditions in communities experiencing transportation disadvantage.
Beyond the journals
Writing and conversation about academic freedom, censorship, and the future of transportation research.
Read my Substack ↗Explore the Crossroads Convening ↗
Selected commentary & interviews
- U.S. Transportation Research at a Crossroads — with Dana Rowangould and Jesus Barajas
- Trump Priorities Spark Sudden Reorganization of Key Transportation Research Body
- Duffy’s Latest Hits: Another Attack on Making Infrastructure More Equitable
- Outspoken Cyclist Podcast — interview, March 13, 2025
- Equitable Transportation Research Makes America Great. So Why Is the Trump Admin Hollowing It Out?
- Sustainable Transportation Research Is Snagged in Trump’s Anti-DEI Dragnet
- UT-Austin researchers told to halt work on $6.1M worth of projects
- The Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation Research
Prospective graduate students
Interested in working together? Send a note connecting your interests to my published work, along with your current CV.