Public Engagement

• A Guide to Transportation Decisionmaking
• Alaska - Evaluation Through Public Engagement Case Study - The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT) began in 1996 to redefine the agency's relationship to the public. Through self-assessment, the ADOT determined that its communication was too oriented to public relations, resulting in a one-way flow of information to the public. They saw the requirement for proactive outreach to the public in ISTEA as an opportunity to create a two-way communication process and better define the role of the public in agency decision making.
• FHWA Public Involvement Reference Tool
• Florida DOT Case Study on Public Involvement - The Florida DOT Case Study on Public Involvement discusses the Florida Department of Transportation launch of an ambitious statewide public involvement effort in 1994 to solicit the participation of Florida's citizens, visitors, and businesses in developing the 2020 Florida Transportation Plan (FTP). FDOT recognized the need to more actively engage the public in transportation decision-making. Outreach associated with the plan consisted of more than 50 separate public events in 33 towns and cities. Locations for the meetings included airport terminals, FDOT offices, shopping centers and turnpike plazas. Over 3,000 residents, travelers and shoppers participated in the process.
• How to Engage Low-Literacy and Limited-English-Proficiency Populations in Transportation Decision-making - An FHWA report that documents best practices in identifying and engaging low-literacy and limited-English-proficiency populations in transportation decisionmaking. The booklet also provides outreach techniques for these populations.
• Minnesota Department of Transportation Case Study - The Minnesota Department of Transportation Case Study focuses on the public involvement efforts of Mn/DOT. Over the years, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) has placed considerable emphasis on the need to continually evaluate the way it interacts with the public. Recognizing the need to involve as diverse a range of voices as possible to arrive at optimal planning and project development decisions, the DOT launched a study to examine ways to enhance the involvement of individuals traditionally under represented in the transportation decision-making process.
• NTI/NHI course: Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking
• NCHRP report: Report 710: Practical Approaches for Involving Traditionally Underserved Populations in Transportation Decisionmaking
• Public Involvement and the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit Design-Build Project, The Metropolitan Council and Partner Agencies - This case study reviews the design-build method used in the public involvement process of the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit Project in Minnesota.
• Public Involvement and the Sagadahoc Bridge (Maine DOT) - The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) case study focuses on their choice to use design-build over the traditional design/bid/build process because of the need to expedite the project. The use of the design-build method presented challenges to MDOT and the local community regarding public involvement. As MDOT's first design-build project, there was no framework for public participation in a design-build context. The expedited project schedule gave rise to early community concerns about aesthetics, thus necessitating a forum for involving the public. Among the initiatives to meet these challenges were the creation of a local advisory committee, MDOT's hiring of a public relations firm and the use of a design charrette to elicit public involvement in the aesthetics of the project.
• Public Involvement and the SR500/Thurston Way Interchange Design-Build Project (Washington DOT) - This case study focuses on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) project to construct a new grade-separated interchange at the intersection of Washington State Route 500 and Thurston Way, approximately one mile from Interstate 205 in the city of Vancouver. The SR 500/ Thurston Way interchange is the first design-build project in the state of Washington, and is serving as a demonstration project to evaluate the use of this contracting method.
• Public Involvement Techniques for Transportation Decision Making - This is a reference work that makes a wide variety of public involvement techniques available to transportation agencies. It includes the 14 techniques originally published in Innovations in Public Involvement for Transportation Planning. There are four chapters with subsections that group techniques thematically by function. Each chapter ends with a final subsection called "Taking Initial Steps."
• TCRP syntheses:
  • Synthesis 85: Effective Use of Citizen Advisory Committees for Transit Planning Operations
  • Synthesis 89: Public Participation Strategies for Transit
• Transportation Planning Process Resource Guide
• Working with Community-Based Organizations on Transportation Planning (Florida International University) - The Project main objectives are as follows: 1) Identify the circumstances under which partnerships with community based organizations would be the most effective, 2) Provide support for government agencies to partner with community-based organizations and report on the successes and issues in using community-based groups to support agency planning and project development activities and 3) Provide documentation on (1) and (2) for purposes of dissemination. Project should attempt to be national in scope (issues), but local in implementation.
• Click here to access a full list of Legislation, Regulations, and Guidance related to public engagement planning on the TPCB website.
• Recent publications on public engagement:
  • Congestion Management Process: A Guidebook
  • Showcasing Visualization Tools in Congestion Management
To find existing publications and resources on public engagement or to add new ones, visit the TPCB Resource Index .

• Upcoming conferences and webinars related to public engagement:
  • ICURPT 2013 : International Conference on Urban, Regional Planning and Transportation
  • Community Planning at the Intersection of People and Places
  • APA National Conference
  To browse all existing events on the TPCB website or to add new ones, please visit the events calendar or the TPCB Resource Index.

• Recent peer events related to public engagement:
  • Integrating Land Use and Transportation Planning
  • Developing Statewide Long Range Transportation Plans
  • Effective Public Involvement Procedures throughout a Multi-Disciplinary Agency
  Read other peer event reports.

• Access Board - Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information technology, provides a listing of transportation-related accessibility resources.
• Census Issues - Census population data are used in many transportation planning applications including population forecasting, travel demand modeling and microsimulation, Title VI analysis and land use analysis. The US Census definition of "urbanized areas" is used in the Federal determination of MPOs. Planning (PL) and STP funds are based upon urbanized area populations. The transportation planning community, through AASHTO, contracts for a special tabulation from Census data called the Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP). The CTPP focuses on the journey-to-work, and other tables helpful for transportation planning (including household size, household income, and vehicle availability).
• Center for Community Change - The mission of the Center for Community Change is to build the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to change their communities and public policies for the better. The Center strengthens, connects and mobilizes grassroots groups to enhance their leadership, voice and power.
• Choosing Visualization for Transportation: Choosing Visualization for Transportation Knowledge Sharing Web Portal, a project funded by the Federal Transit Administration's Public Transportation Participation Pilot (PTPP) program. This web portal is designed to be your one-stop shop for effectively applying visualization tools and techniques in public involvement.
• EPA public involvement website
• FHWA Public Involvement/Public Participation Website
• FTA Public Involvement Website
• HUD public involvement website
• International Association for Public Participation
• Planning Assistance Tool: The Planning Assistant has reasonable choices of public involvement techniques.
• Public Involvement - Learning the viewpoints and opinions of the stakeholders in transportation projects is one of the chief elements of the project development process.
• Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program (PTP Program) - The Federal Transit Administration seeks proposals for research that will develop innovative approaches to improving public participation in the planning of public transportation. Research is sponsored through the Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program, created as part of SAFETEA-LU.
• State-by-State Summaries of the Processes Used and Local Views on Them (April 2001) - A supplemental report to the Rural Transportation Consultation Processes (May 2000) that contains state-by-state summaries of the transportation processes used during state consultations with local officials. The document also contains local perspectives on these processes.
• TRB Committee on Public Involvement
• Visualization - 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.
• White House Office of Public Engagement