A Discussion with Njogu Morgan
Jessie Feller Hahn spoke last week with Njogu Morgan, a post-doctoral researcher specializing in transportation equity in Africa, specifically South Africa, where he is based. As a historian, his research centers around how we can use historical context to better understand current transportation system inequities and access. He's starting a new research network of emerging and developing scholars who are interested in mobility issues from a historical perspective.
In the interview, he told Jessie that the quality of the user experience in South African transportation maps, almost exactly, to the economic demographic of the user — a nice way of saying that people with more money are able to afford more comfortable transportation modes (private cars is the example he cited). No surprise, probably, but he also gave the example of a new train system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that is clean, efficient, and affordable - so there are examples from the African continent on both sides of the equity discussion.
We also discussed the lingering effects of colonialism and Apartheid on South African transportation, and more about the research networking he's developing.