Photo via WRBL
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Flying under the radar of recent tragedies relating to the Department of Transportation (DOT), Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy released a memo on January 29th, 2025, ordering the grant and funding prioritization of areas with high birth rates and single-family homes.
The DOT had funded cities and towns with money from former President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which focused on supporting projects with little to no adequate pedestrian or public transportation infrastructure. Many of the project areas have been underserved communities and those previously disconnected by highways. The decision to focus on these communities came from previous Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, who focused on improving equity and sustainability. Past grants have prioritized alternative transportation options, such as walking, biking, and public transit.
Secretary Duffy’s order to prioritize areas with high birth rates would end these equity programs, leaving disadvantaged communities without the means to improve their infrastructure. In a memorandum, Sec. Duffy delineated his ending of these equity-focused programs as they go against the Executive Order to end D.E.I. programs.
The DOT seeks to improve economies in lower-density areas with single-family homes, arguing that these changes will fund the improvement of rural areas with high birth rates. This, they claim, will make family life more affordable. However, the two states with the highest birth rates, South Dakota and Utah, are over 80% white (2022). In an era marked by removing equity policies for racial minorities, it is worth noting that Secretary Duffy is ordering the growth of white, Republican states that only depend on cars, as the top 15 car-centric states are largely racially white and politically red.
The focus on “family values” as a part of the Trump administration was unsurprising, but Secretary Duffy boldly ordering the use of transportation grants to promote birth rates is unprecedented. Transportation and marriage/birth rates rarely go hand-in-hand, as infrastructure development revolves around economic mobility, accessibility, and environmental concerns rather than social engineering. The prioritization of road expansion and car dependency over walkable transit options will likely do little to encourage family growth.
The recent memo proves concerning, with some Democratic politicians even arguing that it is “deeply dystopian” to focus all aspects of society on “pro-growth” rather than improving already poverty-stricken areas. In addition, the order will likely go toward red states, as they have the highest birth rates in the nation.
Going forward, the funding shift will likely exacerbate existing transportation inequities. The DOT leaves them with even less financial assistance by withdrawing support from cities struggling with underfunded public transit and crumbling infrastructure. In addition, prioritizing areas with suburban and rural transportation infrastructure moves away from the crucial pedestrian and bicyclist transit that cities depend on to reduce carbon emissions. Neglecting the realities of urban, diverse, and primarily predominantly blue populations is inequitable and striking. Single-family zoning that bans apartments, duplexes, and condominiums has also been criticized for exacerbating housing shortages and economic inequality, making it even harder for younger families to establish financial security. In allocating funding to areas with higher birth rates, the DOT indirectly prefers areas with single-family zoning, as the highest birth rates are in areas with a majority of single-family housing.
Secretary Duffy defended his memo, saying he is rolling back “woke” programs to align more closely with President Trump’s pro-growth economic goals. The desire to promote white familial growth under the guise of bettering the economy adds to the growing list of policies that signal a restructuring of federal priorities, providing a controversial addition to the political shift of the Trump administration’s first 100 days.
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This article was edited by Mary Hannah Gallagher, Emmerson Oskay, and Angeline Wu.
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