State and local governments must designate a metro. planning org. (MPO) in each urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more to help plan surface transport. infrastructure and services. MPOs are subordinate to state departments of transport. in the planning and selecting of projects using fed. surface transport. funds. Contents of this report: (1) The Metro. Transport. Planning Process; (2) Issues for Congress: Decision-Making Authority of MPOs; Surface Transport. Assist. Act of 2009; Perspectives on MPO Authority; Representation and Participation in MPOs; MPO Funding and Tech. Capacity; MPOs and ¿Livability/Sustainability¿ Initiatives; Climate Change Mitigation, Compact Cities, and Transport.; Long-Range Planning; Freight Transport. Illustrations.

First Published in 2018. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Planning at a metropolitan scale is important for effective management of urban growth, transportation systems, air quality, and watershed and green-spaces. It is fundamental to efforts to promote social justice and equity. Best Practices in Metropolitan Transportation Planning shows how the most innovative metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in the United States are addressing these issues using their mandates to improve transportation networks while pursuing emerging sustainability goals at the same time. As both a policy analysis and a practical how-to guide, this book presents cutting-edge original research on the role accessibility plays - and should play - in transportation planning, tracks how existing plans have sought to balance competing priorities using scenario planning and other strategies, assesses the results of various efforts to reduce automobile dependence in cities, and explains how to make planning documents more powerful and effective. In highlighting the most innovative practices implemented by MPOs, regional planning councils, city and county planning departments and state departments of transportation, this book aims to influence other planning organizations, as well as influence federal and state policy discussions and legislation.

This book concentrates on a transportation planning process, and focuses on transportation problems. It emphasizes the planning process, identification of problems and goals, data collection, and solution implementation.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have prepared this guide for transportation professionals, elected officials, and policymakers, as well as community and business interests, who want to understand and participate in the transportation planning and decisionmaking process. It has two objectives: first, to provide a framework for linking the various elements of ISTEA's transportation planning process together in a comprehensive manner; and second, to provide information, suggestions, and examples of ways to carry out the metropolitan planning process. Part One describes the changes Congress and the President envisioned in the transportation planning and investment process when they enacted ISTEA. Part Two discusses the products of the transportation planning process: the transportation plan and the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Part Three describes the elements of transportation planning and how metropolitan areas can use them to develop transportation plans and TIPs that meet their needs and the expectations of the Federal Government. Part Four provides a reference guide to Federal regulations, guidance, and other useful information that have been published on ISTEA and the planning process.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) developed a framework for more productive and safer transportation systems, friendly to both the environment and communities. This booklet offers a glimpse into the experience of the past five years and describes the progress that has been achieved since ISTEA was adopted. It is a review of transportation planning progress to date based on information collected from state and metropolitan agencies across the country. Examples of these advances range from widespread incorporation of improved financial planning in long-range plans and short-range investment programs, to strategic initiatives for engaging citizens in the planning process, and to fuller integration of air quality improvement as a goal of transportation planning. This review identifies and discusses four major categories of results: improved investment decisions; working to improve environmental quality; indispensable partnerships; and service to communities.