City of Cincinnati
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Types
Climate Justice/Energy Equity, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics
Year
2022
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Summary
Prateek developed an equity-forward passenger electric vehicles infrastructure plan for the City of Cincinnati.
Goals
The City of Cincinnati aims to become carbon neutral by 2050, with a near-term goal of reducing carbon emissions by half by 2030. Transportation accounts for approximately 30% of emissions, and transitioning to cleaner passenger vehicles is one of the City’s core strategies for reducing carbon emissions. To ensure that this transition benefits all communities, the City of Cincinnati enlisted Prateek Suri to explore opportunities to deploy an Electric Vehicle (“EV”) charging infrastructure in the city that had equity and climate justice as cornerstone principles.
Solutions
Prateek approached this Project in a three-pronged manner:
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Identifying the barriers to EV transition: Through a literature review, stakeholder interviews, existing surveys, and precedents of similar projects across the country, Prateek identified that residents of multi-family housing units in low-income and disadvantaged communities have disproportionately low EV adoption rates owing to the lack of at-home charging options. Recognizing that investments in an EV charging infrastructure will shape mobility options of communities for decades to come, Prateek proposed that the City prioritize the deployment of a public EV charging infrastructure in locations where it will benefit these communities.
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Identifying suitable locations to install EV chargers: Prateek analyzed spatial data to identify disadvantaged communities in the city, the density of multi-family housing units in these communities, and the location of the current public EV chargers to understand the equity gaps in the current EV charging infrastructure across the city. Based on this analysis, and using the spatial data analysis tools, Prateek identified the City-owned properties (recreation centers, public parks, etc.) in the vicinity of densely populated multi-family housing units in disadvantaged communities as potential sites for deploying public EV chargers.
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Recommending policy options for equitable deployment: Based on the analysis highlighted above, Prateek provided policy recommendations and next steps for the equitable deployment of a public EV charging infrastructure in the city.
Potential Impact
The transition to EVs presents a unique opportunity for Cincinnati to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and achieve environmental justice. This project identified suitable locations for installing EV chargers, proposed policy recommendations for nudging the adoption of EVs in disadvantaged communities, and listed the next steps the City should undertake to ensure that EVs are accessible to those in low-income and disadvantaged communities.