Statewide & Metropolitan Land Use

This is a map using a satellite enhanced image of the Salt Lake City region, clearly indicating major highways and significant geographic features such as the eastern portion of the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountains Transportation planning programs can foster integration of land use and transportation planning through the following principles:

Developing land use, economic development and transportation (or other infrastructure) plans in a coordinated manner, with all elements supporting a common vision.
Establishing land use goals and strategies to facilitate alternative transportation modes, including transit and non-motorized transportation.
Using a context sensitive solutions approach in planning and project development that considers land use conditions and implications.
Knitting together transportation projects and programs and public/private investments so that they complement each other and support broader community goals.
Accommodating the flow of freight throughout the country while avoiding or minimizing negative impacts on residential neighborhoods and city centers and the natural environment.
Considering a wide range of strategies, tools, and modal options to address transportation and land use issues.

The statewide transportation planning process is a forum through which transportation decisions, based in part on these principles, are made at the state level. States are required to conduct comprehensive and collaborative intermodal statewide transportation planning that facilitates the efficient, economic movement of people and goods in all areas of the state, including rural, small urban, and metropolitan areas.

Metropolitan transportation planning is the process of examining travel and transportation issues and needs specifically in metropolitan areas. It includes a demographic analysis of the region 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 (MPOs).

The FHWA/FTA has issued guidance to clarify the eligibility and criteria for use of metropolitan and statewide planning program funds to support planning work activities addressing the integration of transportation with other planning activities not directly tied to transportation, including planning to address land use and climate change issues.