Areas of Practice Flashcards
Why is comprehensive planning essential?
it helps communities plan proactively rather than reactively
communities that develop comprehensive plans using “the best available information” as well as “the most inclusive processes” will achieve benefits (economic, environmental, and social) that “far outweigh the investment of resources in the planning process.”
Did either the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Standard Zoning Enabling Act (first edition 1924; revised in 1926) and Standard City Planning Enabling Act (1928) define what is a “comprehensive plan”?
Neither defined a comprehensive plan.
The Standard Zoning Enabling Act simply stated that zoning regulations must be “in conformance with a comprehensive plan”
Are local governments required to prepare comprehensive plans?
All states either allow or require local governments to prepare comprehensive plans
What is the difference between a comprehensive plan and a master plan?
master plans are often more detailed and focused on built form, but not always
what are the basic steps of plan-making for comprehensive planning?
- Identify stakeholders
- Define goals
- Gather information and analysis
- Develop alternatives
- Select an alternative
What should be done after selecting an alternative in a comprehensive plan?
Implementation then involves setting a budget and establishing the action steps needed for implementation.
Finally, comprehensive planning requires evaluation and amendment at regular intervals.
Tribal Planning
engages tribal government leaders, residents, and businesses in preparing plans and administering planning processes in support of the tribal community. Tribal governments develop comprehensive plans, much like in cities.
The U.S. Department of Transportation supports a specific Tribal Transportation process that allows federal agencies to consult with tribes on transportation policy, regulation, and projects. And some states have developed planning guides to help support state-level support for tribal planning.
Corridor Planning
Corridor planning most typically refers to roadways, but can also apply to rail corridors, waterways, and greenways. Corridor planning can happen at the multi-national, multi-state, state, regional, or local level.
Corridor Transportation Planning
Corridor transportation planning typically occurs at the regional level. Corridor planning allows the region’s governments and responsible agencies to coordinate major transportation planning projects.
Most corridor transportation planning is conducted by a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
“Integrated Corridor Management (ICM)”
Recent national corridor planning effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation
ICM refers to the “efficient movement of people and goods through institutional collaboration and aggressive, proactive integration of existing infrastructure along major corridors.” The main goal is for corridors to be managed as multimodal systems where operational decisions are made “for the benefit of the corridor as a whole.”
Federal Highway Administration developed the National Scenic Byways Program
1992
The purpose of the program is to designate and fund enhancements of scenic highways across the United States. To receive Scenic Byway Designation, a roadway must have archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. As part of the designation process, a Corridor Management Plan must be prepared, which documents the roadway’s intrinsic qualities, identifies goals and strategies, includes an implementation timeline, and identifies responsible parties.
What are the Greenways and Blueways goals:
- Protecting natural resources
- Providing alternative transportation options
- Connecting neighborhoods with recreational opportunities
- Promoting healthy communities
- Creating economic development opportunities
Greenbelts
Undeveloped natural land areas that have been set aside for the purposes of open space and recreation, linking urban residents with nature.
Where was the first greenbelt in the united states?
In 1967, Boulder, Colorado created the first locally-funded greenbelt in the United States, funded by an increase in the local sales tax.
National Heritage Areas
places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape. These are designated by Congress and can be found on the National Park Service website.
Tourism Corridor Planning
refers to efforts to link social, cultural, and economic drivers between communities for the purposes of supporting tourism.
Neighborhood Planning
The modern conception of neighborhood planning can be traced to Chicago School sociologists in the early 1900s, notably Robert Park and E.W. Burgess.
a sub-city level of planning.
What was Clarence Perry’s neighborhood unit?
The neighborhood unit was proposed by sociologist Clarence Perry in the 1920s. Perry’s neighborhood unit—an idealized, aspirational version of neighborhood—was 160 acres (the acreage of a half-mile square, within which Perry placed a circle with a quarter-mile radius), with a density of ten units per acre and a population of 5,000.
Downtown Planning
a type of “specific area plan.”
Downtown plans might be presented in the form of a master plan aimed at improving physical infrastructure, including recommendations for adding street furniture to improve the streetscape or enacting design guidelines to improve storefront facades. Downtown plans may recommend programs such as facade improvement grants and wayfinding for visitors and residents.
Main Street Program
(a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation) has been a popular way for planners to approach downtown revitalization in smaller towns.
Edge City
A relatively new concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional urban area in what had recently been a suburb or rural community.
The term was popularized in the 1991 book Edge City by Joel Garreau, who argued that edge cities were the new normal of urban growth worldwide. Garreau established five rules for a place to be considered an edge city:
- It must have more than five million square feet of office space to accommodate between 20,000 to 50,000 office workers (as many as some traditional downtowns);
- It must have more than 600,000 square feet of retail space, the size of a medium shopping mall. This ensures that the edge city is a center of recreation and commerce as well as office work;
- It must be characterized by more jobs than bedrooms;
- It must be perceived by the population as one place;
- It must have been nothing like a city 30 years earlier.
What scale does the The U.S. Geological Survey use?
1:24,000 scale
What does a scale of 1:24,000 mean?
1 inch represents 2,000 linear feet
What does a scale of 1:62,500 mean?
1 inch represents 0.98 miles
What does a scale of 1:500,000 mean?
1 inch equals 7.89 miles
What does a scale of 1:2,000,000 mean?
1 inch equals 31.57 miles
How many feet are in a mile?
5,280
How many inches are in a mile?
63,360
How many acres are in a hectare?
2.47
How many hectares in an acre?
.404686
What are the general slope guidelines for urban development
0-0.5% = no drainage, not suited for development;
0.5-1% = no problems, ideal for all types of development;
1-3% = slight problems for large commercial areas; acceptable for residential;
3-5% = major problems for commercial/industrial/large scale residential;
5-10% = suitable only for specially designed development.
What are the three basic map projection types?
conic
cylindrical
planar
What is map projection?
Allows the Earth to be projected on a flat surface
Contour lines
Contour lines, or lines of equal elevation, are used to represent height (elevation) and structure on a flat map.
A contour interval is the distance between contour lines. The closer together the contour lines are, the steeper the terrain.
How is slope calculated?
the change in elevation divided by the horizontal distance
two points: (X, Y) (Xi, Yi)
ΔY/ΔX
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
The ratio of the gross floor area of a building to its ground area.
It is used primarily to determine building density on a site, i.e., the size of a building in relation to the size of the lot where it sits.
The floor area of the building is measured to the middle of the outside walls and includes the inside walls as part of the calculation. Depending on the locality, floor area sometimes excludes unfinished basements, carports, structured parking, mechanical rooms, and other non-habitable spaces.
A 20,000-square-feet parcel has a FAR limit of 0.5. How big can the building on the site be?
The floor area of the building or house on the site may not exceed 10,000 square feet. This FAR could be achieved with either a single-story, 10,000-square-feet structure or a 2-story structure with 5,000-square-feet per floor.
Site Planning
includes site selection, transportation, earthwork and utilities, and design of the site.
When did subdivision of land first appear in the US?
The subdivision of land, or platting, first appeared in the United States in 1660.
Subdivision
the division of land into two or more parcels, sites, or lots, for the purpose of transfer of ownership, development, or other forms of valuable interest. This definition varies from state to state and may include minimum acreage requirements.
Plat
a map of a tract or parcel of land
replat
allows for lots to be subdivided further or added back together.
amending plat
corrects errors or adds additional information to a plat.
vacating plat
allows for a plat to be terminated prior to the selling of any lots.
preliminary plat
Is a to-scale mechanical drawing with precise topography and prescribed intervals showing the calculated location of all lots, streets, drainage patterns, facilities, and proposed dedications.
final plat
The approved preliminary plat with all bearing, monuments, curves, and notations, together with all dedications, easement, and approvals.
The purposes behind subdivision regulations are:
- To regulate subdivision development and implement planning policies
- To implement plans for orderly growth and development within the city’s boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
- To ensure adequate provision for streets, alleys, parks, and other facilities indispensable to the community
- To protect future purchasers from inadequate police and fire protection
- To ensure sanitary conditions and other governmental services
- To require compliance with certain standards
- To officially register land
To plat a property, the following steps must be taken:
- The applicant submits a preliminary plat
- A preliminary plat is reviewed by staff for compliance with subdivision regulations
- Plat is then reviewed by the planning commission
- Once the preliminary plat is approved by the planning commission, the property owner prepares the final plat
- Final plat then repeats the process above until it is approved by the planning commission.
extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)
The ETJ is a distance outside of the city limits where the subdivision regulations apply. The distance is specified under state law and usually increases with population size.
performance bonds
A performance bond is an agreement between the property owner and the community to ensure that the final plat is built as shown on the drawings within a certain time period. If the developer fails to meet the requirements, the government may use the bond to cover the cost of constructing the improvements. The bond is released once the improvements are in place and have been inspected by the local government.
Exactions
During the subdivision process, the property owner is frequently required to provide exactions, either in the form of dedication of land or payment in-lieu of dedication.
Dedications
are gifts of land for public purposes, such as roads, parks, and utilities.
Impact fees
are typically charged for off-site infrastructure needed to provide service to a development, such as a water or a sewer main.
development agreement
a voluntary contract between a local jurisdiction and a property owner detailing the obligations of both parties and specifying the standards and conditions that will govern development of the property. Although the agreements are voluntary, once made they are binding on the parties and their successors.
A development agreement provides assurances to the developer that the development regulations that apply to the project will not change during the term of the agreement. The city or county may require conditions to mitigate project impacts, as well as clarification about project phasing and timing of public improvements.
subdivision bonus
A subdivision bonus is the extension of development benefits beyond those normally offered in exchange for enhancements such as affordable housing, cluster housing, and open space preservation. The developer may receive assistance with infrastructure, impact fees may be waived, or the ability to construct at a higher density may be granted.
Zoning
Zoning, in its simplest form, is the separation of land uses or functions into separate districts (or “zones”). Zoning is implemented through locally enacted legislation that regulates and controls the use of private property.
What are the purposes of zoning?
The purposes of zoning are to regulate land use, prevent land use conflicts, and allow growth to occur in a planned manner. Zoning can also do the following:
- Protect and maintain property values;
- Promote public health and safety;
- Protect the environment;
- Promote the aesthetic of a community;
- Manage traffic;
- Manage density;
- Limit housing size and type, or encourage a variety of housing types;
- Attract businesses and industries.
What does zoning regulate?
Zoning controls many elements. most common:
Land use
Lot Size
Density
Building placement
Building height
Building bulk
Setbacks
Provision of adequate light and air
Parking
Landscaping
Signage
Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)
The planning and zoning commission is required to issue recommendations in matters of zoning. These recommendations are made to a governing body (e.g., the city council or county commissioners). In other cases, P&Z renders final approval of cases.
- made up of community residents and business owners. Members are appointed by the governing body.
- read staff reports, visit sites prior to meetings, and come prepared to participate in discussions with applicants at P&Z meetings.
- should think long term. For instance, while rezoning a parcel for a specific proposed use might not seem to impact an area significantly, once the zoning change is made, a property may be used for any use allowable in that zoning district.
Board of Zoning Appeals
The board of zoning appeals, aka the board of zoning adjustment or zoning board of adjustment, is a quasi-judicial board that hears cases for variances, special exceptions to the zoning ordinance, and appeals of staff’s administration of the zoning ordinance. Variances are discussed in more detail below.
The governing body appoints members to the board. As with the planning and zoning commission, members are community members who volunteer their time.
City Council (or County Commission)
The governing body of a city often has the final say on zoning issues. The planning and zoning commission makes recommendations on zoning cases to the city council. The city council is then charged with making the final decision on whether to approve or disapprove a case. For a community to adopt a zoning code, two separate documents must be created: the zoning text and the zoning map.
Zoning Text
The zoning text, ordinance, or code lays out the exact regulations that zoning is created to implement. It is a document that is adopted as law by the local governing body. The text must, at a minimum, establish the different zones applicable in the community and the uses allowable in each zone, either by right or with a conditional use permit. It should also define various requirements for setbacks, parking, signs, and include definitions, information on height restrictions, and procedures for zoning applications and appeals, or variances, to the zoning ordinance.
How can zoning be changed?
An amendment to the zoning ordinance changes the requirements for all properties. For example, an ordinance limiting the size of satellite dishes would apply to all properties.
An amendment to the zoning map changes the zoning district on a particular property. For example, at the edge of the community, a developer may apply to change the zoning from an agricultural district to a single-family district. If approved, the map would be changed to reflect the newly assigned zoning district.
Amendments can be initiated by staff, the planning and zoning commission, the governing body, or at a property owner’s request.
What are three different approaches to regulating land use in zoning?
Euclidean Zoning
Cumulative Zoning
Modified Cumulative Zoning
- Euclidian zoning
a. Named after city of Euclid Ohio
b. Places the most protective restrictions on residential land uses, less on commercial uses and virtually none on industrial uses.
c. Highest restrictions in single-family residential zones
- Cumulative Zoning
a. Each successive zoning district allows all the uses from the previous zones
i. A single-family district allows single family homes
ii. A multi-family district allows apartments and all uses allowed in the single-family district.
iii. A commercial district allows retail and commercial uses and all uses allowed in the multi-family district.
iv. An industrial district allows industrial uses and all uses allowed in the commercial district.
- Modified Cumulative Zoning
a. Districts are cumulative by type of land use
i. A multi-family district would allow both multi-family and single-family homes
ii. An industrial district would. Not allow residential uses.
Permitted Uses
• Permitted uses are listed in the zoning
Conditional Uses
• Conditional uses may be listed as conditional uses and would require permission from the city
• Conditional use permits allow certain uses when compatable with surroundings also known as “special use permit” or “specific use permit”
• Permits can be issued in two ways:
o run with the land: any new user is required to follow the same conditions
o run with the ownership: offers the community an opportunity to review the circumstances if ownership or use changes
Nonconforming Use
• is a property use that existed prior to the adoption of district regulations and is allowed to continue under the “grandfather clause.”
• Some communities allow the use to continue indefinitely until it natural ceases or for a set period of time.
• The subsequent use would require the property to conform to the zoning.
• Amortization sets a definite period of time within which the use must come into. Compliance with the zoning ordinance.
Accessory use
• One that is incidental to the main use of the property.
• Typically located on the same lot and smaller in size than the main use
• Examples; outside sales, outside storage, telecommunications tower, garage apartment (adu)
Planned Unit Development (PUDs)
• An alternative to strict zoning regulations
• Used in large developments with a mix of uses
• The entire development site plan is reviewed by a governing body
• In exchange, developer offers increased community amenities and open space (bike trails, recreation centers, landscaped medians and natural open space)
• Zoning ordinance will set a minimum acceptable acreage for a PUD
• If the site plan changes, an amendment is required with the same process as a rezoning.
What are some advantages of PUDs?
They are planned entirely up front with attention to a site plan.
They can allow for more innovative development design.
They allow flexibility that normal subdivision and zoning regulations cannot.
What are disadvantages of PUDs?
PUDs are challenging from an administrative standpoint and require.
More initial review time and need to be amended if there is a change.
• When reviewing a PUD proposal, the following should be considered:
o Location of the property and all abutting properties and streets
o Location and size of streets within the development
o Location of proposed use of buildings
o Location and capacity of infrastructure and public facilities
o Proposed landscaping and pedestrian ways
o Location of open space
o Sign sizes and locations
Overlay zoning
• Places more restrictions on the property owner than a PUD
• Is a set of additional restrictions placed over existing zoning.
• Examples: airports, historic preservation, neighborhood revitalization zones, flood hazard areas, enterprise zones, and foreign trade zones.
Variance
Is a change in the terms of the zoning regulations due to economic or physical hardship.
There are two types of variances:
o a use variance: allows a property to build and maintain a use not explicitly allowed under the zoning district regulations.
o an area variance: allows a property to be excluded from the physical site requirements under the zoning ordinance.
Properties must meet specific requirements for the community to issue a variance:
o There is a unique physical or economic hardship
o The variance will not result in a reduction in property values
o The property owner did not cause the need for the variance
o There variance is not contrary to the spirit of the zoning ordinance
Big-Box Retail
• Generally, has 50,000 or more sf in a large box
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
• Include the practice of raising farm animals indoors in high volumes
• Right-to-Farm laws limit the ability of local government to regulate commercial farms and limits lawsuits by private and public organizations.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
• Is the ratio of a building’s total gross floor area to the size of the piece of land it is built on.
• FAR is most frequently used in downtowns to control light and air
• A FAR of 0.1 means on a 10,000sf lot, the building can be no more than 1,000sf.
Maximum Parking Standards
• Are an alternative to the conventional minimum parking standards used in most communities
• They cap the amount of parking a property owner or business can provide
• Address issue of too much impervious cover and the undermining of pedestrian quality
McMansion
Describes large houses that are mass produced and have perceived negative impacts on the community because they are out of scale with surrounding homes.
Parachute home
A home that appears to have been dropped into a neighborhood where it clearly does not fit with the neighborhoods character.
Teardown
• Is a term that refers to the demolition of a home for the purpose of building a larger home on the same lot.
• Frequently occurs in large cities and neighborhoods convenient to employment centers.
Growth management
Refers to strategies used by government agencies at all levels to help guide the type, intensity, location, and timing of new development. Interest in these strategies often stems from concerns about the compatibility of new growth with surrounding uses and/or the need to minimize the costs associated with supplying public services to support new development.
Smart Growth
planning for greater sustainability
Smart growth provides economic benefits “for individuals, for neighborhoods, for communities, for developers, for land owners, and for the economy as a whole.”
what are the primary principles of smart growth?
- Create a range of housing opportunities and choices;
- Create walkable neighborhoods;
- Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration;
- Foster distinctive, attractive places with a strong sense of place;
- Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective;
- Mix land uses;
- Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas;
- Provide a variety of transportation choices;
- Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities;
- Take advantage of compact building design.
Growing SmartSM
a legislative guidebook that focuses on updating state legislation to encourage better planning and zoning laws.
Sustainable development
balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment to meet the needs of present and future populations. Sustainability includes environmental, social, and economic components.
triple bottom line
first coined in 1994 by John Elkington. His argument was that companies should be preparing three different bottom lines: one for corporate profit, one for people, and one for the planet. These three Ps were intended to measure the financial, social, and environmental performance of a corporation over a period of time.
Carrying capacity
A biological concept indicating the maximum population size of a species that could be sustained in perpetuity within the environment, given the availability of food, water, habitat, etc.
The concept of carrying capacity is used in city planning to discuss the maximum population and employment that could be carried within a particular community. This can relate to the amount of land available for development, as well as infrastructure capacity.
The term “carrying capacity” was first used in 1845 by the then U.S. Secretary of State James Buchanan.
Ian McHarg wrote about the concept of carrying capacity in his book Design with Nature.
Trip generation
deals with the number of trips that a particular site is likely to generate. Thus, it is a byproduct of land use and intensity of use, factors which “induce” people to travel. The propensity to make trips is also dependent on the characteristics of the journey, trip purpose, and socioeconomic characteristics of the person making the trip (income, age, auto ownership).
Origin-Destination Survey
Used to determine trip generation.
An Origin-Destination Survey will set up roadblocks along major routes. The imaginary line that denotes the boundary of the study area is known as the cordon line. Motorists within the cordon area can then be sampled and asked questions on where they are coming from (address or point of origin) and where they are going (destination). A more detailed survey with questions on socioeconomic characteristics can also be given to those sampled. That questionnaire is generally mailed back by the respondent.
Cross tabulation models
used to estimate trip generation.
They allow for estimates of trip generation rates based on land use type, purpose, or socioeconomic characteristics.
Trip generation estimates based on current data become less and less valid with age. When local surveys are unavailable due to time or monetary constraints, published rates are used to derive estimates. Trip generation models, tables, and surveys all have their own sources of error and should only be seen as estimates.
Some typical trip generation rates include:
- 10 daily trip ends for every 1,000 square feet of general office space
- 9 daily trip ends per single family residential dwelling
- 7 daily trip ends per apartment unit
- 38 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of shopping center space
- 5 daily trip ends per 1,000 square feet of light industrial development
trip end
refers to the origin or destination point of a journey
Trip distribution
examines where people are going. A region or area is often divided into traffic zones. Trip distribution information generally provides information on how many trips are made between each zone and every other zone. The trip distribution component of the planning process also provides information on trip distances, time and cost, the nature of the trip, socioeconomic characteristics, and the nature of the transportation system.
gravity model
can be used to provide trip estimates based on the proportional attractiveness of the zone (the “gravitational pull”) and inversely proportional to the trip length.
Modal split
deals with how people get to where they want to go, and the form of transportation that they use. By having information on the number of people using cars, mass transit (bus, train, etc.), bicycles, or walking, planners are able to estimate how many vehicles need to get from one place to another.
AADT
(Average Annual Daily Traffic) is the amount of traffic on a roadway in a 24 hour period, averaged over a year;
Peak Hour Volume
equals the hourly traffic during the peak period
Seasonal Hour Volume
is the peak hour volume during different seasons
Design Hour Volume (DHV)
the capacity of the roadway to handle traffic.
Traffic assignment
also known as trip assignment, allows us to use network models to predict the distribution of traffic for each roadway (the routes that will be used), by the hour. Peak volumes can then be compared with DHV to see which, if any, roadways are going to experience traffic over their design capacity, i.e., where the congestion is going to occur.
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
is a measure of vehicular mobility obtained from travel inventories. VMT is a function of many factors, including topography, population density, travel distances between home and other daily destinations (such as work, shopping, and recreation), and the availability of mass transit. Communities vary in their mix and in the significance of these factors.
High VMT indicates that more vehicles are on the road to meet growing employment, errand, and other travel demands. It can also mean that the trip origins and destinations are getting farther apart and travel times are becoming longer.
Road design
focuses on everything from the nature of street hierarchy to design guidelines for local streets.
“functional classification”
to group streets and highways into classes, or systems, according to their character of service: local or residential streets are designed to serve only local land uses, collectors funnel traffic from local streets to arterials, arterials are major through roads that carry a large traffic volume. Arterials are often divided into major and minor arterials and rural and urban arterials. The functional classification system has been criticized for failing to consider the context in road design (other than “urban” and “rural”).
Typical local street standards include:
- 500-foot maximum tangents;
- Use of stop signs or speed bumps to reduce vehicle speed;
- 150 feet between intersections;
- Clear sight distances of 75 feet.
As street classifications change do the street standards?
As street classifications change, so do the standards. For example, the tangent and curve radii are supposed to be higher on collector streets because clearer sight distance is needed at higher speeds.
Where can the origin of most of our current roadway standards can be traced to?
Federal Highway Administration studies following World War II. Definitions of “good” standards were based on “new” subdivision designs. These standards are often too wide for most local streets and are only advantageous if there is a lot of traffic and no off-street parking.
what is a major impediment to autonomous vehicles?
Only 41 percent of U.S. roads meet the requirements for a “good ride,” as scored according to the International Roughness Index. Deteriorating roads aren’t only a nuisance for human drivers
mapping software must be highly accurate—for difficult intersections, down to the inch. Even minute alterations impede the growth of AVs.
Street patterns
- Grid, a street pattern common in ancient cities and often advocated by New Urbanist planners for facilitating pedestrian access; variants of the classic grid include the block grid, curved block grid, and curved grid;
- Loop streets with minimum and maximum depth standards;
- Cul-de-sacs with maximum length and minimum radius standards of 400-450 feet long and 40-foot turn-around radius;
- Plaza and hammerhead street style, usually insufficient for vehicular turn-around.
What is the minimum street gradient in most areas
0.5%. In areas with cold winters the maximum gradient is 5%; it is 8% for areas with mild winters.
Highway Capacity Manual
published by the Transportation Research Board, provides concepts, guidelines, and procedures for computing highway capacity and quality of service based on road type.
Levels of Service (LOS)
Range from A to F. An LOS of A means there is free-flowing traffic and F means heavy traffic congestion with severely reduced traffic speeds.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944
Designating 65,000 km of interstate highways. These highways, to be selected by state highway departments, authorized the highway system but did not provide funding.
Public Roads Administration (PRA)
Responsible for implementing the highway system, and in 1947 designated 60,640 km of interstate highways.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952
Authorized $25 million for the construction of interstate highways and another $175 million two years later.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Authorized $25 billion in funding for interstate highways between 1957 and 1969.
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962
Created the federal mandate for urban transportation planning in the United States. It was passed at a time when urban areas were beginning to plan Interstate highway routes. The Act required that transportation projects in urbanized areas with a population of 50,000 or more be based on an urban transportation planning process. The Act called for a “continuing, comprehensive, and cooperative” (3 Cs) planning process.
A series of transportation bills have focused on providing funding for not just highways but also transit, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities.
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA)
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21)
Transportation Equity Act 3 (TEA3)
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA)
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST, passed in 2015)
It’s the first long-term transportation funding bill passed since 2005. While it allows city planners to set their own street design standards for local federally funded projects, it did not raise the gas tax to fund improvements (the gas tax was last raised in 1993).
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
Are created to meet federal requirements for urban transportation planning. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 required that urbanized areas with populations of 50,000 or more develop comprehensive urban transportation plans in order to receive federal financial assistance for road construction projects.
In 1965, the Bureau of Public Roads (the predecessor to the Federal Highway Administration) required the creation of planning agencies that would be responsible for carrying out the required transportation planning processes and as a result, MPOs were established. Initially, these organizations were primarily regional councils, but today less than half are housed within regional councils (instead, they are housed inside another governmental agency).
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
The Federal Highway Administration’s urban transportation planning regulations require a regional transportation plan, the TIP, and a unified planning work program for areas with populations of 200,000 or more.
These items are prepared by the MPOs.
The TIP represents the transportation improvement priorities of the region.
The TIP lists all projects for which federal funds are anticipated, along with non-federally funded projects that are regionally significant. The list is multi-modal; in addition to the more traditional highway and public transit projects, it includes bicycle, pedestrian, and freight-related projects.
The TIP shows estimated costs and schedules by project phase (preliminary engineering, final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction). Inclusion of a project phase in the TIP means that it is expected to be implemented during the TIP time period.
Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
is a general term used to describe strategies for the efficient use of transportation. Examples of TDM strategies include:
- Car Sharing
- Flextime
- Guaranteed Ride Home
- Public Transit
- Park-and-Ride
- HOV Lanes
- Telecommuting
- Commute Trip Reduction
- Transit Oriented Development
Car Sharing
Allows individuals to purchase a membership to a car service. Cars are located at fixed locations throughout a city and a member calls to schedule a time to use one. This allows individuals to pay only as they use the vehicle.
Flextime
Allows employees to work at different times beyond the regular 8 to 5 workday. Individuals can choose to work a four-day workweek, come in earlier, or stay later. Flextime reduces congestion on roadways during peak commute times.
Guaranteed Ride Home
Provides commuters who regularly carpool or use transit with a reliable ride home if an emergency arises. Guaranteed Ride Home programs provide commuters with a backup transportation option in case they need it.
