Pedestrians from Boston’s predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods face dramatically higher risks of being struck by vehicles, according to new research analyzing ambulance response data from 2016 to 2021. The disparities reveal a troubling pattern of traffic violence that disproportionately harms communities of color.
Researchers found that residents of Boston’s least-white neighborhoods—including Mattapan, Hyde Park, and Nubian Square—were roughly four times more likely to be hit by cars compared to those living in predominantly white areas like Back Bay and West Roxbury. Emergency calls for pedestrian crashes occurred 2.7 times more frequently in neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black and Latino residents.
Perhaps most striking, the study revealed that Black and Latino residents accounted for half of all pedestrian crash victims even in Boston’s whitest neighborhoods. While these residents represented nine in ten victims struck in predominantly non-white areas, they also comprised five in ten victims in white neighborhoods and were more likely to be hit far from their homes.
Lead author Mark Brennan, now at Rutgers University, suggested longer commutes to job centers in downtown Boston and the Seaport district increase exposure to traffic dangers for residents of color. The research appeared in the journal Cities & Health and involved collaboration with Boston Emergency Medical Services employees.
Brennan emphasized that immediate action doesn’t require identifying root causes: “Our data doesn’t necessarily indicate why this is happening, but we know traffic calming works.”
See: “Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods” (July 1, 2025)Â
