In modern transportation engineering, universal design is one of the most important considerations when design any piece of infrastructure. A huge issue in Canadian (and other countries) transportation infrastructure are designs with inherent barriers for people on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, people with disabilities, seniors, etc. A car-centric transportation system excludes certain groups of people, is not equitable, and does not provide broad access to transportation.
To address this, in addition to addressing the need of CO2 emission reductions in the transportation sector, roads are now being designed with slower speed intent, better support for cyclists, pedestrians, and other modes of active transportation, and shared public transportation. Codes have been updated to specify wider sidewalks for those with wheelchairs, slower speeds are (among many, many other reasons) to reduce the risk of death and serious injury for collisions between those who can afford or choose to drive and those who cannot, physical separation, temporal separation, more bike lines and walking paths, and other active-mode-friendly design features are to make transportation more equitable and safe for everyone. For those unable to walk, bike, or drive, infrastructure for busses and trains are being improved to also make transportation more equitable.
What we can learn from the transportation engineering sector’s universal design approach is to recognize differences in ability or capacity among entire populations and create specific tools and infrastructure to try and accommodate everyone as best as possible; sometimes that means putting more money and effort into providing resources into features that help raise the standard of living for only a small proportion of people, to raise their standard to the same level as everyone else. I think it is sometimes difficult to explain this concept to some people who have faced little adversity in their lives, to those who feel upset and entitled when resources are diverted to those who need it more than them.