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Twenty-first century communities are not bound by time and space as communities were decades ago. Wealth, intellectual capital, natural or developed resources are often concentrated in urban areas. Moreover, locales are connected by environmental, economic, energy and public interests. Many small urban and rural communities have low-income residents, who are disconnected from essential services available in a nearby large urban center. Often population declines in these communities lead to fewer opportunities for jobs, education, and core elements necessary for desirable life quality. Rural and low-density residents proximate to anchor cities could be advantaged by improved public transportation and micro mobility options providing connection into nearby large urban areas. A recent study examined corridor linkages into Texas’ anchor (called megaregion) cities, then compared the vulnerable community characteristics with their county cohorts. The question was whether the gap between vulnerable residents in rural and small urban communities and others in their counties can be measured using demographic variables. A Composite Vulnerability Index (CVI) measures the gap for Texas Triangle and Texas’ Gulf Coast megaregion corridors confirming the poverty of selected rural residents compared to their county cohorts.
Lewis is a Professor in Transportation Studies and Emeritus Director of the Center for Transportation Training and Research at Texas Southern University (TSU). She educates students in fundamentals of transportation and urban transportation issues, as well as conducts operational and policy related transportation research. Prior to joining Texas Southern University in 1992, Lewis spent 15 years as manager and director of planning at the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO). Lewis served as an appointee of former Mayor Sylvester Turner and County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Harris County Commissioner’s Court to Chair the Gulf Coast Rail District. Through this appointment, Lewis has been a member of the Houston Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council since 2018. Lewis was the 2024 Chairperson of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Transportation Research Board’s Executive Committee. She served as a METRO Board Member from 2002 to early 2004 and as Executive Assistant to Mayor Bill White for Transportation Planning 2005 to 2009. She served 6 years as Academic Advisor for COMTO. Lewis co-authored the Phase I study of the Automated Mobility District supporting METRO’s automated vehicle demonstration project on TSU’s campus. In addition to automated vehicles, her research focuses on incorporating vulnerable populations into planning activities. She is also examining the characteristics and challenges of Inland Ports. Lewis is honored to have received TRB’s Sharon D. Banks Humanitarian Award and WTS Houston Chapter’s Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award. She holds a Master’s degree in planning and the Ph.D. in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Policy and Public Administration.
