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.
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.
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.
Putting Smart Growth to work in Rural Communities - This ICMA report focuses on smart growth strategies that can help guide growth in rural areas while protecting natural and working lands and preserving the rural character of existing communities. These strategies are based around three central goals: 1) support the rural landscape by creating an economic climate that enhances the viability of working lands and conserves natural lands; 2) help existing places to thrive by taking care of assets and investments such as downtowns, Main Streets, existing infrastructure, and places that the community values; and 3) create great new places by building vibrant, enduring neighborhoods and communities that people, especially young people, don’t want to leave.
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.
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.