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Metropolitan Transportation Planning: Lessons From the Past, Institutions for the Future

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  • Gian-Claudia Sciara

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: There are more than 400 U.S. metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) overseeing multiple transportation projects totaling billions of dollars, yet these crucial organizations and their history and current role are generally unknown or confusing to many planning practitioners and scholars. MPOs face major challenges in developing meaningful long-range regional transportation plans, challenges rooted in their history that planners should understand as they grapple with metropolitan planning efforts. MPOs may approve projects and their funding, but disparate agencies and often competitive local governments control budgets and actually build projects. MPOs, moreover, do not fully represent all regional interests and have no control over the local land use decisions that would support less autocentric communities and human-powered modes. I provide a metareview of the history of regional transportation planning and the MPOs responsible for it, describing U.S. metropolitan transportation planning from the early 20th century. Federal legislation in the 1960s first suggested a regional forum for conversations about metropolitan transportation. Federal legislation in subsequent decades made incremental if incomplete progress toward creating a meaningful regional forum, adapting institutions and practices to increase stakeholder involvement as well as the scope of transport planning, yet MPOs have multiple limitations that planners can address.Takeaway for practice: History suggests that MPOs can be a force for regional change. Planners and policymakers could anchor future reforms to MPOs’ existing legal and administrative frameworks. Planners should revisit the membership and voting structures of MPO boards to ensure better stakeholder representation and permit some MPOs to generate and direct transportation funds at the local level.

Suggested Citation

  • Gian-Claudia Sciara, 2017. "Metropolitan Transportation Planning: Lessons From the Past, Institutions for the Future," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 83(3), pages 262-276, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:83:y:2017:i:3:p:262-276
    DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2017.1322526
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Burnes, Daria & Neumark, David & White, Michelle J., 2012. "Fiscal Zoning, Sales Taxes, and Employment: Do Higher Sales Taxes Lead to More Jobs in Retailing and Fewer Jobs in Manufacturing?," IZA Discussion Papers 6383, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    1. Yu, Haitao & Jiao, Junfeng & Houston, Eric & Peng, Zhong-Ren, 2018. "Evaluating the relationship between rail transit and industrial agglomeration: An observation from the Dallas-fort worth region, TX," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 33-52.
    2. LEE, Sungwon & LEE, Bumsoo, 2020. "Comparing the impacts of local land use and urban spatial structure on household VMT and GHG emissions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Mark Purdon & Julie Witcover & Colin Murphy & Sonya Ziaja & Mark Winfield & Genevieve Giuliano & Charles Séguin & Colleen Kaiser & Jacques Papy & Lewis Fulton, 2021. "Climate and transportation policy sequencing in California and Quebec," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 38(5), pages 596-630, September.
    4. Sciara, Gian-Claudia & Rahman, Mashrur & Walthall, Rydell, 2021. "A seat at the table? Transit representation in U.S. metropolitan planning," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 165-173.
    5. Lewis, Rebecca & Margerum, Richard D., 2020. "Do urban centers support regional goals? An assessment of regional planning in Denver," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Soyoung Kim & Woo-Je Kim & Richard Clark Feiock, 2021. "An Item Response Theory Model of Inter-Regional Collaboration for Transportation Planning in the United States," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Warit Wipulanusat & Jirapon Sunkpho & Rodney Anthony Stewart, 2021. "Effect of Cross-Departmental Collaboration on Performance: Evidence from the Federal Highway Administration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Barbour, Elisa & Chatman, Daniel G. & Doggett, Sarah & Yip, Stella & Santana, Manuel, 2019. "SB 743 Implementation: Challenges and Opportunities," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt4gj3n2n3, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    9. Wood, Liza & Scott, Tyler A., 2022. "Transportation agencies as consumers and producers of science: The case of state, regional, and county transportation agencies in California," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 153-165.
    10. Krapp, Agustina & Barajas, Jesus & Wennink, Audrey, 2021. "Equity-oriented Criteria for Project Prioritization in Regional Transportation Planning," SocArXiv xcbhy, Center for Open Science.
    11. Heyer, Johanna & Palm, Matthew & Niemeier, Deb, 2020. "Are we keeping up? Accessibility, equity and air quality in regional planning," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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