Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Transportation, Built Environment | 2025

Investigating the gaps between residents’ transportation needs and multimodal transportation access.

Many areas of Oʻahu lack safe and affordable multimodal transportation options, limiting opportunities to advance economic mobility and affecting people’s health and well-being. Residents without reliable transportation may lack access to a vehicle because of their age, disabilities, or income, making it challenging to access essential destinations like schools, medical appointments, and grocery stores. The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice will leverage local data to underscore the importance of improving the safety and accessibility of Oʻahu’s transportation system so that it serves the needs of all residents.

Hawaiʻi Appleseed will develop and distribute a survey that asks Oʻahu residents about their transportation habits and needs. The data from the survey will be used to create an ArcGIS StoryMap that showcases which communities in Oʻahu have high levels of transportation insecurity and which communities have a high need for multimodal transportation options. Hawai’i Appleseed will partner with Ward Research, a Native Hawaiian woman–owned market research company, which will lead the development, implementation, and analysis of the survey.

The project team plans to meet with local elected officials, agencies, and community-based organizations to showcase project results through the StoryMap and advocate for multimodal transportation infrastructure. The findings from this project could help public officials and community organizations more effectively advocate for active transportation in Oʻahu, including by helping to prioritize the Safe Routes to School projects, one of the few state funding sources available for active transportation.