Metropolitan Planning

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

Metropolitan transportation planning is the process of examining travel and transportation issues and needs in metropolitan areas. It includes a demographic analysis of the community in question, as well as an examination of travel patterns and trends. The planning process includes an analysis of alternatives to meet projected future demands, and for providing a safe and efficient transportation system that meets mobility while not creating adverse impacts to the environment. In metropolitan areas over 50,000 population, the responsibility for transportation planning lies with designated Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).

Resources & Publications

• Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues, Briefing Notebook
• Legislation & Regulations
• Planning Forecasting
• Planning Practices
• Related Topics

Legislation & Regulations

Planning Policy & Guidance
Statewide and metropolitan transportation planning processes are governed by Federal law (23 USC 134 and 135). Applicable state and local laws are required if Federal highway or transit funds are used for transportation investments. Federal planning regulations are codified in 23 CFR 450. The local consultation rule and the correction are available at the Office of Environment, Planning, and Realty's Legislation, Regulations, and Policy Web page.

Federal Requirements Related to the Formation of New MPOs
Since the 1962 Federal-aid Highway Act, federal authorizing legislation for expenditure of surface transportation funds has required metropolitan area transportation plans and programs to be developed through a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive (3-C) planning process. Over successive authorization cycles leading to the passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in July 1998, Congress has added and revised the substantive content expected from the 3-C planning processes.

Transportation planning processes are required to be organized and directed for all urbanized areas by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). Frequently Asked Questions and answers provide information on applying the 2000 Census Data to Urbanized and Urban Areas in the FTA and FHWA Programs. The Census Bureau defines urbanized areas (UZAs), and transportation regulation requires MPOs to be established in urbanized areas. UZAs are defined as areas with a population of at least 50,000. MPOs are established for a metropolitan planning area that must contain, at a minimum, the Census Bureau defined urbanized area and the area expected to become urbanized in the next 20 years. The metropolitan planning area may extend to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined metropolitan statistical area.

In the May 1, 2002 Federal Register, the US Bureau of the Census designated new urbanized areas. Designation as a new urbanized area does not mean the area must form a new MPO. Instead, the new urbanized area could be integrated into an existing MPO. An MPO, its planning boundaries and membership and voting structure are established and designated by agreement between local officials and the Governor ( 23 CFR 450.306). This is a State and local choice. Governors' and local officials have been encouraged to establish new MPOs or incorporate new urbanized areas within an existing MPO within twelve months of designation (the same time period allotted after the 1990 Census). This does not mean that a transportation improvement program (TIP) or plan needs to be in place in 12 months. An initial MPO work plan ( 23 CFR 450.314) should include the tasks and schedule that will lead to a plan and TIP.

Transportation planning provides the information, tools, and public input needed for improving transportation system performance. Transportation planning should reflect the community's vision for its future. It should also include a comprehensive consideration of possible strategies; an evaluation process that encompasses diverse viewpoints; the collaborative participation of relevant transportation-related agencies and organizations; and an open, timely, and meaningful involvement of the public. Transportation planning requires a comprehensive, holistic look at the needs and the future of the region and its inhabitants.

Understanding the Communications and Information Needs of Elected Officials for Transportation Planning and Operations
The objective of the Understanding the Communications and Information Needs of Elected Officials for Transportation Planning and Operations document is to enhance FHWA's communications capabilities and approaches with local elected officials (as well as senior appointed officials), with an emphasis on the linkages between transportation planning and transportation systems management and operations.

MPO SAFETEA-LU Listening Session Web Conference
FHWA and FTA conducted a MPO SAFETEA-LU Listening Session Web Conference for Metropolitan Planning Organizations on November 29, 2005. The purpose of the listening session was to solicit feedback and input on the planning provisions in SAFETEA-LU that Metropolitan Planning Organizations thought needed regulation, guidance, or clarification. The Listening Session was devoted to listening to participant thoughts on how FHWA/FTA should proceed to implement SAFETEA-LU.

Planning Practices

• The "SAFETEA-LU Planning: Illustrative Examples" report is intended to support timely accommodation of SAFETEA-LU provisions by presenting examples of current practice from metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state departments of transportation (DOTs) to illustrate a range of approaches for addressing several selected planning provisions. The "illustrative examples" presented in this report were drawn from a cross-section of large and small MPOs and DOTs and are offered for consideration by all practitioners as they formulate and implement their own plans to achieve SAFETEA-LU compliance.

• The Transportation Planning Capacity Building website has more in depth information about and resources for Metropolitan Transportation Planning. The MPO Database can assist you in finding and contacting peers with similar characteristics.

• The FHWA/FTA wrote "A Citizen's Guide to Transportation Decisionmaking" to help to understand how transportation decisions are made at the local, state, and national levels.

• Information on Noteworthy Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Practices: Cooperative Revenue Forecasting and Annual Listings of Obligated Projects (or PDF, 716KB).

• The MPO Role in Preparing for Security paper outlines possible roles for MPOs in a regional strategy for handling security/disaster incidents. The appropriate role depends upon the political and institutional context for that region and the expertise and capabilities of the MPO staff.

• The Transportation Management Area Planning Certification Review Primer provides a basic understanding of the key concepts and expectations addressed through a review, along with references to pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and other resources.

• The Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: An Historical Overview focuses on key events in the evolution of urban transportation planning including developments in technical procedures, philosophy, processes, and institutions.

Related Topics

• Summary Report - MPO Peer Workshop on Planning for Climate Change - This workshop gathered representatives from MPOs around the country, representing small, mid-size, and large metropolitan areas, to share experiences and collaborate on approaches to addressing the issue of planning for climate change.

• Carbon Dioxide, Climate Change, and the Boston Region MPO: A Discussion Paper - This document provides an overview of climate change and its local impacts, a summary of the MPO's plans and programs that are already resulting in the reduction of GHG emissions, and provides specific potential "next step" actions to deliberately continue existing programs or start additional GHG-reducing initiatives.

• MPO Peer Workshop On Addressing Security Planning And Natural & Manmade Disasters - This workshop addressed security planning for natural and manmade disasters. Representatives from nine MPOs shared their experiences, success stories and challenges in this area which allowed staff from a variety of MPOs to come together to share information.

• MPO Peer Workshop On Strategies To Improve The Effectiveness Of MPOs - This workshop addressed strategies to improve the effectiveness of MPOs by sharing experiences, success stories, challenges, and strategies for their improvement.

• The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Standing Committee on Planning has released the report Non-Traditional Performance Measures that explores how state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and public transportation agencies use non-traditional performance measures in their transportation planning and decision-making processes.

• The Rapidly Urbanizing/Overview report is to identify examples of innovative transportation planning practices by states and metropolitan planning organizations to include rural communities near rapidly growing urbanized areas or small towns that are expected to become urbanized by the next U. S. Census.

• The Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management at NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service prepared a report on "Pedestrian and Bicyclist Standards and Innovations in Large Central Cities" in conjunction with the National Association of City Transportation Officials, Inc. and with the support of the FHWA's Office of Planning. The report reviews how best to accommodate the use of bicycles and walking while ensuring safety and sufficient mobility for motor vehicles for large central cities and provides examples of best practices in various cities nationally and internationally.

• Security planning includes activities and products developed in response to identified criminal threats to high value, vulnerable elements of the transportation system. Preparedness planning includes activities and products developed in response to the threat of environmental hazards and natural occurrences. Four state and metropolitan planning organizations where researched for this report, which found numerous activities that can be characterized as contributing to the integration of security and emergency preparedness into the transportation planning process including: chartering committees and organizations; establishing liaisons or otherwise designating planning staff resources; establishing project categories and program funding; and conducting vulnerability and threat assessments. The four planning organizations investigated were: Houston-Galveston Area Council, San Diego Association of Government, Oregon State Department of Transportation, and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

• The Transit at the Table: A Guide to Participation in Metropolitan Decisionmaking 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 (PDF, 4.7MB) and Executive Summary (PDF, 1.0MB).

• Community impact assessment is a process to evaluate the effects of a transportation action on a community and its quality of life. The assessment process is an integral part of project planning and development that shapes the outcome of a project. Its information is used continuously to mold the project and provide documentation of the current and anticipated social environment of a geographic area with and without the action.

• Visualization can provide the public and decision makers a clear idea of the proposed policies, plans and Transportation Improvement Programs and the impacts to the human and natural environment. Visuals can make information instantly or intuitively understandable. The new technology has made it possible to communicate what the proposals may look like when implemented.

• Scenario planning is an analytical tool that can help transportation professionals prepare for what lies ahead. Scenario planning provides a framework for developing a shared vision for the future by analyzing various forces (e.g., health, transportation, economic, environmental, land use, etc.) that affect growth. Scenario planning, which can be done at the statewide level or for metropolitan regions, tests various future alternatives that meet state and community needs.

• Learning the viewpoints and opinions of the stakeholders in transportation projects is one of the chief elements of the FHWA project development process. Through Public Involvement/Participation, stakeholders can be the users or those affected by construction or traffic. Since the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1950 and the Federal Transit Laws originally enacted in 1964, we have worked to ensure that all interested persons have the opportunity for a voice in how our transportation system is developed.

• Transportation Planning and Asset Management - As transportation planners and metropolitan planning organizations evaluate current system conditions and alternate future scenarios to make informed decisions on allocating resources, they must balance funding realities with mobility needs; public expectations; and community, legislative, and environmental considerations. Transportation asset management provides a valuable tool to maximize system performance, improve customer satisfaction, and minimize life-cycle costs.

Contact

• For more information on metropolitan transportation planning, please contact David Kuehn at 202-366-6072 or david.kuehn@dot.gov.