Regional Transportation and Land Use Decision Making in Metropolitan Regions

Abstract

Throughout the United States, metropolitan regions face increasingly complex issues related to transportation and land use. The diffuse nature of decision making creates a need to better coordinate land use and transportation to address issues such as: congestion, infrastructure costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. Key players in this decision making are regional metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) with transportation planning authority, regional planning responsibilities, and in some cases regional land use planning authority. The goal of this study was to describe and assess efforts by regional agencies to coordinate land use and transportation. We examined policies and processes in four key topic areas: 1) Governance: formal and informal decision making approaches, 2) Coordination: strategies used to coordinate land use and transportation, 3) Growth Centers: policies to encourage development in higher density centers, and 4) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): policies to incorporate smart growth criteria in TIP funding decisions.