CITIES AND ACCESSIBILITY: THE POTENTIAL FOR CARBON REDUCTIONS AND THE NEED FOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

This article begins by outlining the elements that should be included in the framework for understanding how people interact with their built environments. Part II describes how the framework might be made operational through the use of an emerging technique called land-use transportation scenario planning. Part III assesses how well land-use transportation scenario planning fits within the dictates and limits of U.S. transportation law. The analysis ultimately reveals that it holds substantial promise as a tool that could lead to meaningful cuts in carbon emissions

Using the Planning Process to Mitigate Climate Change

This research evaluates how Oregon’s SB 1059 and California’s SB 375 have integrated climate change mitigation strategies into local planning processes, and seeks to understand how transportation planning can help slow climate change

Integrating land use issues into transportation planning: scenario planning, bibliography

BibliographyOver the past 15 years, land use-transportation scenario planning has become an increasingly common technique in regional and sub-regional planning processes. This study investigates the breadth of the technique and some of the themes that are emerging by reviewing 80 scenario planning projects from more than 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The study identifies the antecedents to current land use-transportation scenario planning, observes trends emerging from the recent examples, and explores whether the technique has entered the state of the practice in land use-transportation planning. The study provides references to an annotated bibliography and a digital library containing information on source data

Integrating land use issues into transportation planning: scenario planning, a summary report

ReportOver the past 15 years, land use-transportation scenario planning has become an increasingly common technique in regional and sub-regional planning processes. This study investigates the breadth of the technique and some of the themes that are emerging by reviewing 80 scenario planning projects from more than 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The study identifies the antecedents to current land use-transportation scenario planning, observes trends emerging from the recent examples, and explores whether the technique has entered the state of the practice in land use-transportation planning. The study provides references to an annotated bibliography and a digital library containing information on source data

Community Transportation Academy: Course Curriculum and Implementation Handbook

A Community Transportation Academy (CTA) is a course that harnesses the knowledge, technical expertise and passions of practicing transportation professionals in a city to immerse a cohort of interested and dedicated community members in transportation issues over a two to three month curriculum. The CTA curriculum was developed by drawing from the Portland Traffic and Transportation (PTT or Portland CTA) course, along with the Wasatch Transportation Academy (WTA or Wasatch CTA, which was inspired by the Portland course). Planning academy courses in cities around the country are also good models to look to for how to structure and operate such a course. However, the nature of the transportation course is that it goes into much greater depth on a specific topic, allowing the participant to go deeper into transportation history and technical discussions and develop a greater understanding of the agencies and policies involved

Integrated transportation scenario planning FHWA-HEP-10-034

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Launching the Wasatch Transportation Academy

The “Community Transportation Academy” model seeks to break down the barriers for community members to participate in transportation decision-making processes. Since 1991, the Portland Traffic and Transportation Course has held at least one course each year, connecting Portland residents with top planners, engineers, and decision-makers from agencies working on transportation in the region, with the goal of conveying the factors professionals consider, ranging from technical considerations, legal and policy mandates, other tradeoffs, and how the community can engage with and influence decisions. This project sought to implement a transportation academy in the Salt Lake City region inspired by the Portland course, using a handbook and report developed as part of a prior NITC-funded study. This report details the implementation of the Wasatch Transportation Academy. Using a curriculum handbook developed in 2015 based on the Portland course, this project sought to adapt the curriculum for the Salt Lake City region. The project brought in partners from the region’s municipalities and regional and state transportation agencies to create the first of what is hoped to be a continuing community-based course in transportation planning and decision-making. The course ran for eight weeks during January-March 2022, reaching a total of 49 students and concluding with a suite of 18 student-led project presentations and a field trip of a local transportation project in the process of being implemented. Student feedback from a post-course survey showed a high degree of satisfaction across a number of pedagogic factors, with a strongly positive net promoter score, indicating a likelihood of continued success for the course in future years. Experiences from the first run of the course suggest improvements to course structure and curriculum that would extend the course to a 10-week format (like Portland’s), and a shifting geographic focus to capture differing substantive foci and engage a broader set of students and stakeholders

Metropolitan Centers: Evaluating Local Implementation of Regional Plans and Policies

The Denver and Salt Lake City Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) have embarked upon regional visioning strategies that promote development around higher density, mixed use centers with current or future access to transit. This study examines the programs and policies in the Salt Lake City and Denver regions to examine regional vision influence on local planning and the opportunities and constraints facing centers. The research team analyzed local plans over the past several decades, interviewed planners, and examined demographic, land use and transportation characteristics in select centers across the region. We found that the regional vision had a moderate influence on local planning, due to vague definitions and criteria. However, light rail investment and market forces have had a more substantial influence—resulting in cities developing supportive transit oriented development policies. While over 100 centers have been designated, many face significant challenges to support regional goals, particularly because many light rail lines were located along rail and freeway alignments. A limited number of “tipping point centers” already contain the necessary elements to be successful with city and private investment. Many “greenfield centers” offer significant future opportunity for development, but their suburban location and infrastructure needs present significant costs and challenges. Many other “redevelopment centers” are dominated by industrial, commercial or office development, and the land use and transportation patterns within these centers present substantial hurdles that may limit their potential to achieve regional goals