Tool Kit for Integrating Land Use and Transportation Decision-Making

Introduction

Welcome! The objective of this tool kit is to provide a user-friendly, web-based source of methods, strategies, and procedures for integrating land use and transportation planning, decision-making, and project implementation. The tool kit is designed:

• To assist metropolitan and regional planning organizations, State departments of transportation (DOTs), transit agencies, and other organizations involved in the transportation planning process in incorporating land use considerations into their planning and project development activities.
• As a resource for local government land use and transportation planners, community groups, and others who wish to better understand and implement linkages between transportation and land use planning.

The tool kit is made up of three parts:

• The Tools which includes brief descriptions of 30 tools, along with implementation examples and sources of additional information;
• Case Studies provide a detailed look at how land use and planning tools have been effectively applied in practice; and
• Other References and Links that provide additional information on tools for integrating transportation and land use decision-making:
  • Publications
  • Web Sites

Case Studies

To view PDF files, you need the Acrobat® Reader®.

• Tucson, AZ: Orthophoto (or PDF, 46KB) - Through its Regional Remote Sensing (RRS) program, the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) collects high-resolution digital imagery for state, regional, and local agencies and organizations. Since 1998, the region has invested $4.7 million collecting the photos and applying them to land use planning, transportation planning, corridor studies, zoning code enforcement, preliminary roadway design, and other purposes in the public and private sectors.

• Oakland, CA: Pedestrian Plan (or PDF, 50KB) - The City of Oakland developed a Pedestrian Master Plan that designates a network of pedestrian facilities and distinguishes segments and intersections in need of particular attention for safety enhancements. In addition to traditional technical methods and community input, Oakland used Space Syntax, a software which estimates and assigns pedestrian volumes throughout the city based on land use, population, and other trip generation characteristics, for assessing safety concerns.

• Sacramento, CA: Blueprint Sacramento (or PDF, 45KB) - To support a regional visioning project, a GIS-based community indicator model, PLACE3S was used in conjunction with a regional land use model and travel demand model enhancements to provide real-time feedback in MPO-led public workshops on the effects of different land use options on transportation, open space, and other conditions.

• Denver, CO: Street Classification System (or PDF, 50KB) - The City and County of Denver's new street classification system considers multiple modes and surrounding land uses. Multimodal streets are "zoned" as residential streets, main streets, mixed-use streets, commercial streets, industrial streets, landmark streets, and one-way couplets.

• Suffield, CT: Charrette-based Planning (or PDF, 45KB) - A charrette process and Visual Preference survey were applied to develop a community plan for the town of Suffield, as part of a regional growth project led by the Hartford MPO. The process resulted in changes to zoning to allow mixed-use development downtown and to a redesign of the town's Main Street.

• Illinois (Statewide): Illinois Tomorrow Corridor Planning Grants (or PDF, 222KB) - This program, administered by the Illinois DOT, provides $15 million over 5 years to help local governments develop plans that integrate transportation and land use/development decision making.

• Oregon (Statewide): Community Solutions Team (or PDF, 42KB) - This team, which includes representatives of Oregon DOT and four other State agencies, provides quick-response technical assistance to communities that have a transportation-related land use issue, such as working with a major employer to stay downtown instead of moving to a greenfields location.

• Seattle, WA: I-405 Corridor Program (or PDF, 149KB) - The I-405 Corridor Program was a partnership among communities, elected officials, agencies, and advocacy groups to define a 20-year transportation vision for the 30-mile I-405 corridor in east suburban Seattle. Led by the Washington State DOT, the program undertook a streamlined EIS approach to reach consensus on a $7 billion transportation package to address mobility and access needs. The solution package includes multi-modal transportation projects and land use strategies.

• Albany, NY: Community and Transportation Linkage Planning Program (or PDF, 236KB) - The Community and Transportation Linkage Program helps to integrate land use and transportation decisions by providing MPO staff or private consultant support to local community planning initiatives. The funded planning studies are helping to implement key policies of the New Visions regional transportation plan through adoption by localities of land use plans, highway and transit designs, zoning ordinances, driveway, sidewalk, bicycle accommodation, and other standards.

[Back to top]

Other References and Links

Publications

• AMPO Noteworthy MPO Practices in Transportation-Land Use Planning Integration Report (PDF only, 2.18MB) (March 2004) - In support of the technical assistance element of the TPCB Program, the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) conducted a survey of recent MPO projects to identify those that have been highly effective in their support of transportation-land use integration. AMPO screened these initiatives for innovation, effectiveness and transferability and selected a sample of five as notable practices. Each of the selected projects was recently completed or is in the final stage.

• Domestic Scan Tour I: Land Use and Transportation Coordination (March 2003) (or PDF, 577KB) - Designing transportation systems that enhance mobility, economic opportunity, and community livability is a major challenge for many communities across the country. In the United States, political leaders, planning professionals, and private citizens are increasingly aware of the connections between land use policies and transportation planning. In the autumn of 2002, the Federal Highway Administration sponsored a domestic scan tour to learn about projects in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming aimed at successfully integrating land use and transportation planning. A delegation of Federal and local government representatives visited these projects to collect, synthesize, and distribute information on innovative approaches to this issue. Their findings are contained in this report.

• Domestic Scan Tour II: Land Use and Transportation Planning Coordination (November 2003) (or PDF, 276KB) - Focuses on communities in three southeastern states: Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, this scan tour emphasized the redesign, redevelopment, and retrofitting of roadway corridors that included new design and planning elements to enhance the livability of each community. The scan tour team reviewed visioning processes that considered the interrelationships among transportation, land use decision-making, quality-of-life, and economic vitality issues. The Executive Summary is also available. Getting to Smart Growth , Volume I (2002) and Volume II (2003). Produced by the International City/County Management Association and the Smart Growth Network with support from the U.S. EPA, these documents provide examples and case studies of policy options and private sector actions that can be mixed and matched to encourage more livable communities.

• Getting to Smart Growth, Volume I (2002) and Volume II (2003) - Produced by the International City/County Management Association and the Smart Growth Network with support from the U.S. EPA, these documents provide examples and case studies of policy options and private sector actions that can be mixed and matched to encourage more livable communities.

• Influence of Transportation Infrastructure on Land Use - (or PDF 146 KB) - This document describes the development decision-making process from the private sector perspective, as well as the role that local and regional government entities play in the process. It provides a framework for understanding the relative importance of transportation accessibility, describes the role of local and regional government actions and policies, and outlines the private developer's decision-making process.

• National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 423A Land Use Impacts of Transportation: A Guidebook (1999) - This report contains the results of research into the land use implications of transportation investments and decisions. Presented as a guidebook, it provides reference information on land use planning and forecasting methods, and their integration into the multimodal transportation planning process.

• Smart Growth Transportation Guidelines: An ITE Proposed Recommended Practice - Produced by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (2003), t his document provides transportation professionals with guidance on the types of transportation systems that support and are most efficient with "smart growth" development and how to best meet these transportation needs.

• Transit at the Table: A Guide to Participation in Metropolitan Decisionmaking (or PDF, 3.70MB) and Executive Summary (PDF, 1.02MB) - This report presents the observations, perspectives, and recommendations of a cross-section of transit agencies from large metropolitan areas on how to secure strategic positions in the metropolitan planning process. More importantly, the report can be a guide on how to use those positions to win policy and program support for priority transit services. The challenges to achieving full decisionmaking partnerships in regional settings, the most effective strategies for addressing these challenges, and the rewards of partnerships are presented by transit industry leaders using their own experiences.

• National Site Visits on Transportation and Growth - In June 2004, representatives from Federal, state, regional, and local agencies visited six states in two weeks, taking a first-hand look at successful programs and projects to integrate transportation and land use planning, decision-making, and project development. These site visits were conducted through NCHRP, with sponsorship from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Federal Highway Administration.

[Back to top]

Web Sites

• The FHWA Scenario Planning web site provides noteworthy practices and innovative uses of Scenario Planning applications for transportation planning and explores other Scenario Planning Resources.

• The FHWA Toolbox for Regional Policy Analysis provides an overview of analytical tools, including land use forecasting models, for predicting the impacts of regional transportation and land use policies.

• The FHWA Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program funded over 610 projects between 1999 and 2004, many of which are helping to improve the link between transportation and land use planning. Project accomplishments and lessons learned are documented through a series of 14 case studies and three program reports.

• The U.S. Department of Energy's Smart Communities Network provides case studies and tools related to transportation, land use planning, community energy, green building, and other topics to help create sustainable communities.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Smart Growth web site provides a variety of publications and links to tools and studies on introducing "smart growth" principles in land use and transportation planning.

• PlaceMatters.com is a web site designed to help community leaders, public agencies, and land use planners understand and employ new tools and techniques for managing growth and other issues.

• The Project for Public Spaces web site provides tools and resources to support placemaking through urban design, transportation, and other strategies.

• The FHWA/FTA Transportation Planning Capacity Building web site includes reports, case studies, training opportunities, and other resources on a variety of planning topics, including transportation and land use integration.

To provide Feedback, Suggestions or Comments for this page contact Robin Smith at robin.smith@dot.gov