Public Engagement

The Public Engagement focus area page is a one-stop shop for resources about public engagement and equity in transportation planning on the TPCB website. It includes links to publications, legislation and guidance, recent peer events, upcoming calendar events, and related websites.

• A Guide to Transportation Decisionmaking   NEW!
  Have you ever wondered how decisions are made about the transportation projects that affect your life? How do government officials decide where to put a bus stop, road, or bridge? How are these and other transportation projects planned? And how can you make sure your opinions are heard and considered by residents, planners, designers, and elected officials? The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) created this guide to answer these and other transportation project-related questions. We hope this guide will help you understand how transportation decisions are made at the local, State, and national levels; and that you will take advantage of the opportunities provided to contribute your ideas. We believe that the better the public understands the transportation decisionmaking process, the more certain it is that the transportation system will be safe and efficient, and that the planning process will be responsive to public needs and concerns about their communities and the natural environment. A revised version of this guide was published in April 2015.
• The Transportation Planning Process: Key Issues A Briefing Notebook for Transportation Decision makers, Officials, and Staff   NEW!
  The Briefing Notebook is a primer for transportation decisionmakers and stakeholders. It provides government officials, planning board members, transportation service providers, and the public at large with an overview of transportation planning in metropolitan settings. Along with a basic understanding of the key concepts, the notebook provides references for additional information. Part I discusses transportation planning and its relationship to decisionmaking. Part II presents short descriptions of key products that are prepared as part of the transportation planning process. This book was updated in 2015 to reflect recent changes in Federal legislation.
• Public Involvement Techniques for Transportation Decisionmaking   NEW!
  Quality planning and project development require meaningful input from the public. Many members of the public are genuinely interested in what is happening in their community but do not know how they can effectively provide input to influence the outcome of a transportation plan or project. How does a transportation agency grab and hold the public’s interest in a project or plan and convince people that active involvement is worthwhile? How does an agency provide the means for the public to have direct and meaningful impacts on decisions? This guide provides a variety of tools to secure meaningful input from the public on transportation plans, programs, and projects—and it can help agencies improve their overall public involvement techniques.
• 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.
• FHWA Public Involvement Reference Tool
• NCHRP report: Report 710: Practical Approaches for Involving Traditionally Underserved Populations in Transportation Decisionmaking
• NTI/NHI course: Public Involvement in Transportation Decisionmaking
• 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.

• View case studies and notable practices related to Public Engagement.

• Upcoming conferences and webinars related to public engagement:
  • NHI Training: Public Involvement in the Transportation Decisionmaking Process
  • NHI Training: Public Involvement in the Transportation Decisionmaking Process
  • NHI Training: Public Involvement in the Transportation Decisionmaking Process
  To browse all existing events on the TPCB website or to add new ones, please visit the events calendar or the TPCB Resource Index.

The TPCB peer program is a free resource for agencies in need of transportation planning assistance. Visit the peer program page to learn more or apply for a peer event.

• Recent peer events related to public engagement:
  • Transit Oriented Development in Southern Nevada Peer Exchange Report
  • West Virginia Statewide and Metropolitan Transportation Planning Processes Peer Report
  • Integrating Land Use and Transportation Planning
  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 - The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is looking for examples of great public involvement practices. Have you been involved in a project that demonstrated new technologies? Do you have lessons you'd like to share with others? The annual meeting in January 2017 represents all transportation modes, with more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 750 sessions and workshops addressing topics of interest to all attendees. A number of sessions and workshops will focus on the spotlight theme for the 2017 TRB Annual Meeting, Transportation Innovation: Leading the Way in an Era of Rapid Change. Submission deadline for innovative public involvement practices is September 12. For more information, please see TRB Call for Posters. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Jill Barrett, poster session coordinator, (860) 570-0740.
• 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