Engage Stakeholders
Metro considers all who reside, work and travel within Los Angeles County to be stakeholders of our agency. Stakeholders play a crucial role in any Metro project. Listening and responding to community concerns through broad, equitable stakeholder engagement is foundational to achieving our mission of providing mobility and access to opportunity for all. Effective stakeholder engagement starts with understanding community members’ needs, motivations and expectations. Residents, institutions, businesses, and the elected officials who represent them play critical roles in public participation, planning and outreach.
Stakeholders’ concerns often reflect your project’s potential impact beyond the immediate scope. Addressing community members’ concerns and ideas helps ensure that the project you are planning aligns with the interests and expectations of the communities we serve. Addressing stakeholder issues early and often is not about ticking a box; it is about intentionally integrating stakeholders’ perspectives throughout the project’s lifecycle for more equitable outcomes in our transit system.
Incorporating important information about our communities such as demographics, economic data, environmental and land use considerations and equity will influence a project’s final design and goals. Understanding historical equity implications in the project area is also key to recognizing community values and concerns.
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A Note on Projects Under NEPA or CEQA
Engagement Approach
To enhance your project’s equitable outcomes, consider the following when developing your engagement approach. Keep in mind that engagement strategies must be both broad-reaching and targeted to priority populations, as not all strategies will work for every group you aim to engage. Tailoring your approach ensures inclusivity and effectiveness across diverse communities.
- Collaborate Early
Hold an interdisciplinary, collaborative project kickoff meeting with staff and community members to define goals for equitable outcomes. Invite a broad coalition of project participants.
- Demonstrate Collaboration Benefits
Brainstorm future project benefits of collaboration. Consider these benefits through a whole-system design approach, as opposed to an optional add-on.
- Facilitate Communication and Collaboration Across the Project’s Lifecycle
Meet regularly with an interdisciplinary project team, including community members to clarify expectations, discuss potential opportunities and identify potential barriers. Foster two-way communication throughout the process. Regularly report back to stakeholders on how their input has been incorporated into the plan or project, reinforcing transparency and trust.
- Build Capacity
Recognize that stakeholders come from varied backgrounds and may have differing levels of technical expertise. Build in time for capacity-building activities, such as integrating additional meetings, providing glossaries, answering FAQs, hosting office hours or distributing other training materials. These efforts help ensure all stakeholders feel empowered to engage meaningfully.
- Be Flexible with your Timeline
Understand that achieving equitable outcomes may require flexibility in your timeline. Some stakeholders may need multiple touchpoints to feel comfortable engaging, while others may require time to build trust. This can be facilitated through consistent communication and capacity-building efforts, ensuring all participants feel supported and valued.
By integrating these considerations into your engagement approach, while recognizing that different strategies are needed for different groups, you can create a process that is both inclusive and effective. Broad-reaching strategies ensure wide participation, while targeted approaches address the unique needs of priority populations, driving meaningful and more equitable outcomes.
Engagement Resources
Metro has compiled a variety of vetted resources and best practices for Metro staff to equitably engage other departments, public partners, community members and stakeholders when developing Metro projects, policies and plans.
Metro’s Public Participation Plan outlines the methods and procedures by which Metro fulfills—and seeks to exceed—U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) requirements related to public engagement. The Plan covers coordination with advisory groups and community partners and specifically addresses two federal mandates: Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular C 4702.1B, which outlines responsibilities to Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons, and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Title VI program, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 162(a) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975.
Metro’s Community-Based Organization Partnering Strategy fosters collaboration with local communities by strengthening the agency’s relationships with CBOs. CBOs are a vital part of the communities that are served by Metro and are key players in civic life, public policy and public program provision. Metro partners with CBOs in a variety of ways and for diverse purposes, including supporting stakeholder engagement.
- The CBO Database is Metro’s one stop portal for CBOs to learn about partner opportunities with Metro, apply for opportunities and find additional resources.
- Additional CBO Partnering Strategy Resources are available to Metro Staff.
Metro’s Community Leadership Committees (CLCs) engage community residents through project-specific advisory groups. CLCs focus on incorporating diverse local perspectives to ensure that community needs are prioritized in the decision-making process. CLC members commit to a project-limited term to foster and advance community-based dialogue. For example, the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit CLC brings together 15 local residents from various backgrounds and locations within the project area to guide community-based dialogue and outreach during construction of Metro’s East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit (ESFV LRT) project. Metro maintains resources and templates to support successful CLCs based on the community-oriented planning process for the Long Beach-East LA Corridor Mobility Investment Plan, which included the formation of the LB-ELA Corridor Task Force, Working Groups and CLC.
Metro’s Advisory Body Compensation Policy provides a compensation model for supporting and sustaining participation by members of the public on advisory bodies across Metro’s work portfolio.
In addition, Metro developed the below stakeholder engagement methods to be inclusive and emphasize innovative, culturally relevant approaches:
Public Meetings
These are gatherings held to inform a wide audience of relevant project information and provide an opportunity for the public to express comments and questions. Public meetings increase awareness about an issue or proposal and can be a starting point for, or an ongoing means of engaging, further public engagement. They can be in-person, virtual or hybrid.
Best Used For
- Overarching opinions from a wide range of people
- Indication of the level of interest within communities about a particular issue based on attendance
- Input on issues that require broad-based community consensus
Key Stakeholders
- Full range of external/community stakeholders
- Project-Specific Advisory Groups and Community Leadership Committees
Best Practices
- Clearly establish a meeting purpose and design the meeting to serve these needs
- Utilize a multi-channel approach to ensure meeting notices reach diverse local stakeholders effectively, and thereby maximizing awareness and engagement
- Seek to engage residents who are deeply involved in their communities and will foster and advance community-based dialogue
- Consider a series of meetings to cover the full range of information in segments
- Publicize the meeting broadly, clearly stating the goal, logistics and significance of the meeting in all advertising materials
- Record and upload presentations as a resource for those who cannot attend
- Arrange for language interpretation needs
- Develop presentation materials to be concise and accessible to all levels of experience
- Produce and distribute a meeting summary
Gaps and Limitations
- Speakers with extreme positions may dominate the meeting or deepen existing conflicts
- Participants may not be comfortable speaking or posing questions to a large audience
- Space may be limited for interactive engagement
- The timing and format of the meeting may exclude participation from community members facing barriers such as limited transportation access, accessibility challenges, work obligations or caregiving duties
Communicating Outcomes
- Produce a meeting report summarizing the comments received, intended use of input, expectations for next steps and future opportunities for participation
Resources
- Community Leadership Committees: Metro’s Community Leadership Committees (CLCs) comprise residents who are deeply involved in their communities and commit to a time and project-limited term to foster and advance community-based dialogue.
- U.S. EPA Online Self-Study Modules: Series meant for designing and facilitating successful public engagements. The modules cover a range of project phases, with Module 6 focused on Public Meetings.
- Efficient & Engaging Public Meetings – CivicPlus: Provides step by step considerations, tips and guidelines for each stage of planning and executing a public meeting.
- 6 Tips for Inclusive Public Meetings: Outlines six strategies for effective and fun public meetings grounded in knowing your target audience, meeting people where they are and building relationships.
- The Commons Social Change Library Guide: In-depth strategies for every aspect of facilitating public meetings in an inclusive and effective way.
- Time Management Tips for Efficient Public Meetings: Guidance on how to manage timing to help ensure the meeting runs smoothly and effectively.
Print Media
Print media, including fact sheets, flyers, brochures or newsletters, can provide a concise summary of information about a project, issue or participation process in an accessible and straightforward format.
Best Used For
- Increased awareness and future public participation
- Brief responses about an issue or proposal with the inclusion of questionnaires or comment sheets
- Documentation of the public participation process
Key Stakeholders
- Community members living near or within a project area
- Metro employees
- Local businesses
Best Practices
- Make documents simple and easy to understand
- Consider creative, visually interesting ways of organizing information
- Use strong graphics and branding materials that are easy to identify and associate with the project while avoiding a strong “marketing” or “sales” look
- Provide different translated versions in languages relevant to the community impacted and ensure all links are also accessible in the same languages
- Provide a point of contact and opportunities for participation on all materials
- Conduct internal technical and communications review, where possible integrate CBO review of language usage to ensure it is accessible for the intended audiences
Gaps and Limitations
- Materials must be brief and confine complex concepts to a limited space
- May be difficult to determine the reach and effectiveness of materials
Communicating Outcomes
- Maintain a consistent communication channel with periodic progress updates and upcoming participation events
Resources
Open Houses
This is an informal forum where attendees are invited to drop in at their convenience to obtain project information and speak with members of the project team one-on-one.
Best Used For
- Comments and questions related to the impact of specific project segments or elements
- Context about existing conditions and priorities of a community
- In-person, relaxed discussions in small groups or one-on-one
Key Stakeholders
- Community members living near or within a project area
- Project-Specific Advisory Groups and Community Leadership Committees
Best Practices
- Hold events at a local site for an extended period that allow participants to come and go at their convenience and avoid crowding
- Develop several stations that address different elements of the project (e.g., sets of boards organized by geography, theme, etc.)
- Showcase information through poster boards, maps, plans, images, design drawings, diagrams or other visual representations whenever possible
- Staff a project member at each station to present the elements and answer questions
- When possible, integrate roles beyond Metro project planners or engineers that are related to a project, such as vehicle or bus operators, maintenance workers, mechanics and others who will be involved with a project site on an ongoing basis
- Provide comment cards at each station and/or comment sheets for each participant to collect feedback
Gaps and Limitations
- May be difficult to document and organize live input or conversations
- Resource intensive
Communicating Outcomes
- Ask open house guests to share their email address for project updates
- Develop and distribute an email newsletter following engagement
Resources
- Example – Summary of Metro Public Engagement: The report summarizes the process, facilitation, participation and key takeaways from an open house series for Metro’s C Line Extension to Torrance Project. This document can be accessed on the project website by visiting the Project Filing Cabinet and Draft EIR Community Engagement folder (linked above) under “2022 Summer Community Open Houses.”
Surveys
Surveys can be a group of questions administered electronically or in person that ask participants to respond to specific questions, submit comments about a topic, evaluate various options or rank preferences.
Best Used For
- Public attitudes, values or issue perceptions
- Community opinions, beliefs, needs, assets and behaviors
- Community demographics
Key Stakeholders
- Metro riders and future Metro riders
- CBOs depending on the project
- Targeted or wider range of community stakeholders
Best Practices
- Utilize QR codes to increase the accessibility of the survey and promote flexible engagement
- Identify existing data sets within Metro and align survey questions to be compared against them
- Incentivize participation with digital gift cards
- Clearly define the context, intent and relevance of the survey
- Ensure questions are worded to be brief, unbiased, straightforward and limit misinterpretation
- Aim to keep the survey focused on soliciting actionable, relevant feedback
- Provide translated survey in relevant languages to the target audience
Gaps and Limitations
- Public participation and response rates can be low for internal operations projects
- Level of detail may be limited
- Results may not always represent the community as a whole
- Translations, interpretation and language access may not cover all communities
Communicating Outcomes
- Compile responses in a summary report that documents feedback and describes how it will inform project activities or changes
- Distribute an e-newsletter to survey respondents thanking them for their participation, reminding them when/where/how their feedback will be influencing the project and informing them of project progress, future opportunities for collaboration and next steps.
Resources
- Metro Customer Experience Plan: Summary report of Metro’s Customer Experience Survey outlining results, opportunities for improvement and action plans
- NCHRP Survey Resource Toolkit: Provides resources including a template, scoring tool, guidelines and presentation notes
- CARB Community Engagement Model – Table 5: Features a selection of polling and survey tools, including descriptions and tips
Workshops
These are a structured forum or roundtable where participants are invited to work together in groups on a common problem or task and collaboratively develop feedback. Workshops may include a combination of engagement tools such as presentations, focus groups and design exercises.
Best Used For
- Plans, approaches, strategies and opinions about a problem or task
- Consensus solutions or recommendations for project criteria and issues
- Analysis of proposal aspects and alternatives
Key Stakeholders
- Participants across the agency, community and/or region. Depending on the workshop goals, participants may be selected to represent an intersectional viewpoint or a particular interest group (e.g., industry members, universities, CBOs, local jurisdiction groups, internal employees, community members, etc.)
- Project-Specific Advisory Groups and Community Leadership Committees
Best Practices
- Implement topic-specific break out rooms (virtual) or tables (in-person) for participants to select based on interest, with rotations at designated intervals
- Assign a host for each table that provides context and instruction to the group and tracks patterns, insights and questions that emerge from discussion
- Maintain small group sizes to encourage everyone’s participation
- Prepare a select number of compelling questions that elicit discussion from a variety of perspectives
- Maintain flexibility in discussion structure and direction to encourage the diversity of feedback that may arise
- Develop and update agendas to reflect participant interests
- Provide translation and interpretation services, if needed, or breakout groups with peers who speak the same language
Gaps and Limitations
- Requires significant preparation and staffing
- Group interactions and dynamics can be unpredictable
Communicating Outcomes
- Develop an action summary report or table that tracks workshop feedback and annotates if and how items are incorporated into project considerations
Resources
- U.S. EPA Public Participation Guide: A catalogue of Public Participation Workshop case studies, trainings and other materials regarding best practices
- Virtual Facilitation Guidelines & Resources — National Equity Project: Guidelines on facilitating workshops virtually
- A Guide to Inclusive Facilitation: Broader Workshop planning and facilitation guide
Interviews
These are one-to-one or small group conversations with key stakeholders about a certain topic or issue. These can be in-person or virtual depending on the needs of the project and interviewee.
Best Used For
- Detailed information and opinions about a particular issue
- Hidden concerns or ideas that may not otherwise be expressed in a larger setting
- Potential agendas, participants and designs for future community engagement efforts
Key Stakeholders
- Individuals and community leaders with specific knowledge, expertise or concerns relevant to an issue
- Project-Specific Advisory Groups and Community Leadership Committees
Best Practices
- Select interviewees based on designated criteria (e.g., areas of expertise, representation of groups, geographic location)
- Arrange interviews at a time and location that is familiar to the interviewee to promote a comfortable, high-quality discussion
- Provide the interviewee with general information or topical materials prior to the interview
- Ensure the interview time is uninterrupted and distractions are limited
- Carefully plan an interview script, approach or question list and determine a method for note taking (e.g., record and transcribe, designated note taker)
- Make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of the participant, including the use of accessibility tools, translation and interpretation services, or other modifications
Gaps and Limitations
- Can be time consuming
- Requires skilled interviewers and trust
Communicating Outcomes
- Prepare an interview report with key takeaways, expected next steps and a verbatim transcription of the conversation. Provide a copy to the interviewee.
Resources
- Public Participation Guide: Stakeholder Interviews | U.S. EPA: Provides guidelines for conducting stakeholder interviews that can be applied across projects.
- Oregon Regional Transportation Plan Example: Oregon conducted over forty interviews with a wide range of stakeholders and CBOs to support a new Regional Transportation Plan. The resulting report demonstrates their process for planning, collecting, and stakeholder feedback process.
Neighborhood Walks and Rolls
These are a series of scheduled walks with interested community members and project team members focused on listening and addressing community concerns on a localized, neighborhood level. They can also provide community members with an early understanding of a planned project site.
Best Used For
- Community priorities, needs and values
- Neighborhood specific concerns and questions about a proposed project
Key Stakeholders
- Community members living near or within a project area
- Project-Specific Advisory Groups and Community Leadership Committees
Best Practices
- Offer a combination of weekday, weekend, morning and afternoon walk times to accommodate different schedules within the community
- Hold walks in areas that are accessible by foot and offer the most visibility of the project developments
- Designate a note taker from the project team to record verbal comments, questions and conversations
- Provide walking maps, fact sheets, contact cards, comment cards or other printed materials to facilitate participant engagement
- Provide translation and interpretation services, if needed
Gaps and Limitations
- Requires significant logistical coordination, preparation and staffing
- May be difficult to capture and track feedback received during live sessions
Communicating Outcomes
- Ask neighborhood walk participants to share their email address for project updates
- Develop and distribute an outreach summary detailing the logistics, key takeaways and expected next steps
Resources
- Summary of Metro C Line Extension Public Engagement Summary: The report summarizes the process, facilitation, participation and key takeaways from a neighborhood walk series. This document can be accessed on the project website by visiting the Project Filing Cabinet and Draft EIR Community Engagement folder (linked above) under “2022 Spring Neighborhood Walks.”
Digital Engagement Forums
Digital community engagement is transforming traditional methods by bringing greater efficiency, accessibility and innovation to the process. For text message-based forums, a designated phone number is used to gather and organize feedback submitted via text. Public signage invites stakeholders to participate by texting their thoughts on a specific topic, project or question. These submissions are then displayed on a moderated online forum, enabling direct interaction between the project team and the community.
Best Used For
- Answers to questions posed by the project team
- Ideas or suggestions for project design or features that incorporate community needs
- Areas and topics of popular interest within the community
- Projects with large footprints (countywide) or ongoing, evergreen projects
Key Stakeholders
- Community members living near or within a project area
Best Practices
- Design questions that match the current project phase and present real opportunities for community members to contribute
- Select topics with a focus on understanding and supporting neighborhood impacts
- Respond to submissions on the response forum to encourage ongoing participation
- Post updates on the forum (e.g., announcements, emerging trends or future events)
- Ensure webpage is following accessibility guidelines to be screen-reader compatible, using high-contrast text and images, image descriptions, etc.
Gaps and Limitations
- Typically requires a third-party service and expense
- Quality and relevancy of comments can be unpredictable
- Irrelevant or non-topical submissions may negatively influence project perception if the accompanying online forum is unfiltered
- Can be inaccessible to communities that do not have regular access to internet
Communicating Outcomes
- Compile answers and responses into a summary report that documents primary community concerns/priorities and describes how they will inform project activities or changes
- Text community following engagement
Resources
- Engaging Bellevue is a web-based civic engagement platform that empowers residents to participate in city planning and infrastructure projects through interactive tools like surveys, idea boards and Q&A forums.
- Let’s Talk Mercer Island is a web-based civic engagement platform that enables residents to participate in city decision-making through interactive tools like surveys, idea boards and project updates, offering a centralized space for transparent, two-way communication between the community and city officials.
Pop-Up Engagement Booths
Pop-up engagement stations are temporary booths or kiosks set up in high-traffic areas (e.g., transit hubs, farmers markets) where community members can learn about projects and provide feedback in real time. They are designed to meet people where they are by setting up in everyday community spaces, making participation more convenient and inclusive. These booths often feature interactive displays, printed materials and digital tools like tablets or QR codes to collect feedback on the spot. Staffed by project team members, CBOs or volunteers, they foster informal, face-to-face conversations that build trust and encourage real-time dialogue about transportation initiatives.
Best Used For
- Location-specific concerns or ideas
- Immediate reactions to project concepts through visual displays and models
Key Stakeholders
- Metro transit riders who can provide real-time feedback on routes, schedules and station amenities
- Local business owners who can share insights on how transportation changes may impact access, deliveries and customer flow
- Residents from underrepresented communities
Best Practices
- Set up stations in areas where target stakeholders naturally gather, such as transit stops, community centers or local events, to maximize visibility and participation
- Ensure all materials are accessible and inclusive by offering translations, visual aids and simple instructions for providing feedback via text, QR codes or in-person
- Use maps, models or digital displays to help participants visualize the project and provide more informed, location-specific feedback
- Staff stations with trained, approachable facilitators and equip team members with talking points to foster meaningful conversations, answer questions and encourage diverse input
- Provide multilingual staff and resources, when needed
Gaps and Limitations
- These stations only capture feedback from people who happen to be in the area during specific hours, potentially missing key demographics like shift workers, homebound residents or those in less trafficked neighborhoods
- Setting up, staffing and maintaining pop-up stations requires significant time, personnel and materials, which may not be feasible for all projects or budgets
- Feedback gathered in person may require manual transcription and can be harder to analyze or integrate with other feedback
- Depending on the location and time of the event, there may be additional safety considerations such as lighting, proximity to other businesses/booths, etc.
Communicating Outcomes
- Share a visual or written summary of key feedback themes and project impacts
- Post updates on digital platforms with photos, quotes and next steps
- Return to pop-up locations with signage or flyers showing how input was used
Resources
- Metro’s Alameda Street Mobility Project used pop-up engagement stations to gather real-time feedback from pedestrians, cyclists and transit users in high-traffic areas. The input directly influenced design alternatives, ensuring the project addressed community needs for improved multimodal access and safety.
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) partnered with community-based organizations to host pop-up engagement events around the Diridon Station Area. These events helped gather diverse input on land use, open space and transportation access, directly influencing updates to the station area plan.
Community Wayfinding
Community-based wayfinding refers to signage, visual landmarks and other cues that reflect local cultural identity and enhance community member navigation within transportation networks like Metro. Community-based wayfinding benefits local residents and visitors alike by providing culturally-specific navigation that is unique and interpretable. CBOs and community partners can collaborate with Metro to translate community priorities into community wayfinding touchpoints at key transit infrastructure like bus and rail stations, multimodal hubs and active transportation networks. Community wayfinding can help ensure stakeholders navigate Metro’s network and the communities it serves in a way that authentically represents LA County.
Best Used For
- Community-centered and culturally relevant navigation for Metro’s riders
- Co-development opportunities for CBOs and community partners
Key Stakeholders
- Metro riders and visitors/future Metro riders
- CBOs and community partners, which can include artists and local wayfinding experts, youth and cultural leaders, accessibility advocates and other cultural co-designers
- Community members living near or within a project area
Best Practices
- Establish shared decision-making bodies, including CBOs, to ensure wayfinding materials are co-developed and co-managed by community members and that management and engagement can be sustained long-term
- Pursue funding opportunities for CBOs, artists and community participants throughout wayfinding development
- Highlight local traditions, history or language; this may include featuring Indigenous place names and landmarks or highlighting art from local community members
- Incorporate multilingual text, audio navigation, tactile paths and other visual cues to ensure navigation and wayfinding material is accessible for community members who are LEP, visually- or hearing-impaired or neurodiverse
- Collaborate with CBOs and other community members to develop a community-driven design process that features supplementary engagement activities like Neighborhood Walks and Rolls and Pop-up Engagement Booths within or near the project area
- Rely upon youth design cohorts for wayfinding designs, development and feedback
- Refer to the agency’s Metro Art resources to connect with local artists, explore public program examples and learn more about how art can connect people, neighborhoods and destinations throughout Los Angeles County.
Gaps and Limitations
- Wayfinding art and/or signage may fade over time and require ongoing maintenance
- Wayfinding designs may conflict with Metro design standards or requirements and require coordination or exceptions
- Designing, coordinating, staffing and maintaining supplementary engagement requires significant time, personnel and materials
- Wayfinding feedback may be unpredictable or challenging to integrate with other feedback
Communicating Outcomes
- Share wayfinding updates and progress on diverse digital platforms
- Coordinate with CBO partners to distribute updates to local community members
- Share wayfinding updates and progress on diverse digital platforms, including Metro Art’s program page if applicable.
Resources
- Vancouver, B.C.’s TransLink collaborated with local Indigenous artists and communities to install dual-language signage in transit stations and buses across the Vancouver metro area. This engagement seeks to build lasting and trusting relationships with Indigenous communities by supporting Indigenous language revitalization and preservation and creating awareness of the community’s deep ancestral and current regional connection with the area.
- Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART)’s Skyline system features 19 stations on O‘ahu’s south shore. Each station’s design is unique to the community it serves and features architectural design elements that honor the area’s history and culture, honor wahi pana (storied or sacred places) and highlight traditional wayfinding. Station names reflect forgotten place names, significant historic events and meaningful cultural sites, preserving Hawai’ian tradition, culture and history.
- Wayfinding: Planning and Design with Communities: Resource developed by the University of Kentucky outlining the benefits of and strategies for integrating community knowledge into wayfinding.
Empowering Youth:
From Learning to Leading
Engaging youth can provide Metro staff and partners with the opportunity to develop our future leaders and riders. Metro staff can help encourage young people to become active participants in the processes and decision-making structures in their own communities by considering what works best for young people:
- Identifying Goals and Opportunities: Youth engagement goals and opportunities differ depending on the age and developmental stage of youth. For younger teens (ages 13.5 to 17), the focus is on nurturing foundational skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and effective communication. By participating in youth councils, speaker series and community-building projects, they gain hands-on experience in civic engagement and begin to see themselves as capable, confident leaders. They learn to advocate for their communities and provide a meaningful youth voice within the agency recognizing that they are the future riders and decision-makers. Young adults (aged 18 to 24) are more equipped to address social and policy challenges and take on early leadership roles in their schools or early-stage careers, while individuals aged 25 to 35 can start to serve as community ambassadors and project champions, deepening their involvement in our Metro system through their own leadership and civic engagement initiatives.
- Developing Intentional Informational and Engagement Activities: In 2025, Metro Youth Council participants were asked what the biggest obstacle is preventing youth from being involved in Metro projects. They cited a lack of awareness, including not receiving information from Metro, as the number one reason and recommended the following intentional activities:
- Hosting YouTube and IG Live Sessions for youth participation
- Working with social media influencers to promote Metro projects
- Opportunity to provide feedback via text messages
- Setting time aside specifically for youth comments in public meetings
- Partnering with schools to offer incentives for students to participate, including service hours for their participation in meetings
For more information about some of Metro’s engagement activities focused on young people, explore Metro’s Youth Council and Metro’s Sustainability Youth Program.
Ensuring Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Stakeholders can Engage
Of the more than 9 million people who are at least five years old within LA County, an estimated 2 million speak English less than “very well.” Metro uses the term Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to describe this demographic group. Many LEP residents depend on Metro’s services for mobility. Metro prioritizes multilingual resources, flexible meeting schedules, innovative outreach methods and participation evaluation and tracking to ensure effective engagement among these core stakeholders. Metro provides tools and services for LEP assistance, including Metro advisory cards and pocket transit guides available in seven languages: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian and Armenian. Additional languages and ADA accommodations, such as large print and Braille, are available upon request. Metro is committed to conducting multilingual engagement efforts, including community meetings with translation and interpretation services, as well as tailoring engagement activities to the languages spoken in a project area’s community. These efforts extend to various formats, such as printed materials, information booths and more, to enhance the accessibility of the information we share. Staff are encouraged to review demographic data for their project areas to identify the most relevant LEP languages to address, as some communities may have significant populations speaking languages like Khmer or Zapotec, which are not among the standard seven languages offered by Metro. For more information on Metro’s language support services, explore our Public Participation Plan.
Close-up of Untitled by Mickalene Thomas, at the Leimert Park Station.
Thank You to the Equity Toolkit’s CBO Partners and Advisors
Five CBOs served as key contributors and advisors during the development of this Equity Toolkit. The Equity Toolkit project team developed these relationships through an initial posting on Metro’s CBO Database. The partnering CBOs are based in Los Angeles County with vast expertise in environmental and mobility justice, sustainable land use, economic opportunity and equity-centered community outreach. These CBO collaborators helped ensure the Equity Toolkit meaningfully reflects community member perspectives and priorities on how Metro can improve equity outcomes through our planning processes.
CBO Partners Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) were embedded in the Equity Toolkit team throughout the duration of the development process and participated in a wide range of project activities, including website content development and review, Metro staff engagements and trainings and community member interviews.
CBO Partners
CBO Advisors
CBO advisors Communities for a Better Environment, The Center by Lendistry and Streets for All served as strategic subject matter experts on key topics and provided input on select activities and materials.
