Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Pedestrian safety

People in Low-Income Areas More Likely to Be Killed While Walking

Who is most at risk of being hit by a car?

Image: Governing
Pedestrian fatality rates are highest in low-income neighborhoods. Image: Governing
false

People on foot make up a growing proportion of people killed in traffic -- 15 percent in 2012, up from 11 percent in 2007. Children, seniors, and people of color account for a disproportionate share of the victims.

So do people living in low-income areas, according to a new analysis by Governing. A review of pedestrian deaths from 2008 to 2012 revealed that the fatality rate is twice as high in America's poorest neighborhoods as in higher-income neighborhoods.

Governing's Mike Maciag writes that efforts to improve walkability have often been centered in downtown areas and commercial districts while poor people, priced out of those neighborhoods, are moving into less walkable suburbs:

Bridging the Gap, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conducted field research assessing a sample of street segments in 154 communities in 2010. In high-income areas, 89 percent of streets had sidewalks, while only 49 percent did in low-income areas. Marked crosswalks were found in 13 percent of high-income areas, compared to just 7 percent of streets in low-income communities. The study found similar disparities for street lighting and traffic calming devices.

To some degree, people living in poor neighborhoods may be more at risk of being hit while walking because they walk more than people who can afford cars. But low-income neighborhoods are also more burdened by the legacy of car-centric street design than affluent neighborhoods. “Historically, many could not fend off construction of highways and major arterial roadways the way wealthier communities did,” Maciag writes.

Low-income neighborhoods that struggle with high crime rates may have the added problem of what former DC and Chicago DOT Commissioner Gabe Klein has called "a broken windows effect," whereby reckless driving and violent crime exacerbate each other. In places where violent crime rates are higher, the thinking goes, motorists are also less likely to observe the law, putting pedestrians at risk.

Add to that the evidence that drivers are less likely to slow down or stop for people of color and you have a recipe for gross inequity on our streets.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Policy Change: NYPD Will Write Criminal Summonses, Not Traffic Tickets, for Cyclists

Quietly, the NYPD has changed its policy and will now make criminal cases against cyclists who go through red lights, a change that will have predictable and unpredictable ramifications.

May 2, 2025

Decision 2025: Our Mayoral Questionnaire Begins … With a Question on Traffic

Question 1: Now that congestion pricing is working, how can we take full advantage of its traffic-busting qualities? Let's hear from the top candidates...

May 2, 2025

Supporters Rally, But Delivery Workers Stay Home Amid Deportation Fears

Vulnerable immigrant delivery workers avoided a rally for better pay on May Day.

May 2, 2025

Friday Video: Could Speed Limiter Tech Stop Crashes Before They Happen?

Southern Brooklyn is still reeling from the tragic vehicular killing of a mother and two of her kids on Ocean Parkway on March 29.

May 2, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Such a Busy Week Edition

If you missed any of these stories, please go back and read them. Plus other news.

May 2, 2025
See all posts