Elephant In The Room: Barriers To EV Adoption In Diverse Communities

It comes as no surprise that charging infrastructure is lacking in diverse areas.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. fast chargers and, to a lesser extent, level-2 chargers are not being deployed equitably throughout the US and, in fact, the world at large. Many communities, mostly communities of color, are devoid of any access to public chargers. The same is true in rural areas. Because of this situation, communities of color and rural areas are often termed “charging deserts.” A charging desert is an area that lacks significant level-2 and DCFC charging infrastructure.

Using PlugShare maps to illustrate the point is one of the most effective ways to show how many communities are left out EV infrastructure deployment. This map shows the charging desert south of I-20 in Atlanta.