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Resources
I. Reports and Resources
Just Transportation Alliances White Papers
Quality of Life: Surface Transportation Policy Project
National and/or Federal References and Resources
Texas References and Resources
II. Transportation &
Communities: Mode, Money, Impact
Modeling, Forecasting, and Planning for Pedestrians,
Bicycles, and Multimodal Transportation
Pedestrian Resources
Health and Human Services Transportation Coordination
Public Transportation, Transit
Public Investment in Highways
The Cost of Driving
Land Use and Cars
Metropolitan Communities
Suburban Communities
Employment and Transportation
Housing: Inclusion and Participation
Clean Air and Transportation
Fixing Transportation
Improving Regional Transportation Planning
"Smart Growth"
III. Demographics of
Transportation
Transportation Equity
Persons with Disabilities
Seniors and Transportation
Low-Income Citizens and Transportation
Women and Transportation
IV. Surveys and Public Opinion on Communities and Transportation
Just
Transportation Alliances "White Papers"
Auto Focus Report (PDF)
New Horizons: Getting More Mileage Out
of the Gas Tax (MS Word) or PDF
Texas' Crisis in Transportation: A Report on
Transportation Funding (PDF)
Quality of Life Campaign: Surface Transportation Policy Project
Easing
the Burden: Congestion and Transportation Choice (Presented
in PDF)
Executive
Summary–Easing the Burden: Congestion and Transportation Choice
Driven
to Spend: The Impact of Sprawl on Transportation Expenses (Presented
in PDF)
Executive Summary- The Impact of Sprawl on Transportation Expenses
Mean
Streets 2000: Pedestrian Safety, Public Health, and Federal Transportation
Spending (Presented in PDF)
Changing
Direction: Federal Transportation Spending in the 1990s (Presented
in PDF)
Why
Are the Roads So Congested? An Analysis of the Texas Transportation Institute’s
Data on Metropolitan Congestion (Presented in PDF)
Executive
Summary- Why Are Roads So Congested?
Road
Work Ahead! Is Construction Worth the Wait? (Presented in PowerPoint)
High
Mileage Moms: STPP’s Analysis of Travel By Women (Presented
in PowerPoint)
Aggressive
Driving: Are You At Risk?
National
and/or Federal Reference Resources:
While nearly all of the listed references are national in their scope,
almost all provide some useful state-level data, as well.
CDC Reports on the
Health Impacts of Sprawl
CDC Report
Just Transportation Alliances Press Release
National
Transportation Statistics
Hands-down, the most exhaustive and detailed national-level data
resource on the US transportation system, its economic performance, safety
record, energy use, and environmental impacts with 2000 data now available.
While the entire publication can be downloaded only in PDF, most individual
chapters and/or data tables can be downloaded in either PDF, HTML, or
XLS.
The Pocket Guide To Transportation: At thirty-four pages, it’s hardly pocket-size, but it is loaded with statistical compilations. For those times when you can’t carry your copy of the National Transportation Statistics, chances are you may find the numbers you need here. (Presented in PDF)
Transportation Energy Data Book: Designed as a desktop reference, this series of data books includes statistics and information that characterize transportation activity and/or influence energy use. (Data books presented in PDF)
U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the US: 1999: Chapter 21: A compilation of a wide assortment of federal data on transportation, this excerpt includes the following data:
Number 1019: State-specific Highway Mileage By Road Classification (e.g., highway, arterial)
Number 1022: Funding for Highways by Source, 1980 — 1997
Number 1024: Disbursement of State Highway Funds, 1990- 1997
Number 1025: Federal Grants to State and Local Governments in the Highway Trust Fund by State
Number 1026: State Gas Tax Rates, 1995 and 1997
Number 1037: Mode of Transportation Used for Travel to Work by State (Uses 1990 Census data)
Number 1038: Travel by Selected Trip Characteristics
Number 1039: Summary of Personal Travel Survey Data
Number 1049: Trends in Vehicle Miles Travelled
Number 1052: The Costs of Owning and Operating an Automobile, 1980- 1997
Number 1059: A Profile of Transit Bus Activity, 1980- 1997
An excellent overview resource, these files are presented in PDF.
Federal Highway Funding by Program and Type of Roadway, with Related Safety Data (2001): This General Accounting Office data resource is a compilation of other information produced and released by a wide range of federal and state governments. (To access this report, enter the following report number: GAO-01-836R after reaching the webpage cited in the weblink above. Presented in PDF)
Highway Statistics Series: Published annually, this series focuses on data on motor vehicle ownership and operation; highway financing; and the physical characteristics or conditions of the nation’s highways, roads, and streets.
The most current available series volume: Highway Statistics 1999
National Transit Database: Based on consolidated profiles, this resource paints a detailed picture of the financial, operational, and "customer service" health for the thirty largest US transit agencies.
The most current available volume: National Transit Database 1995
National Personal Transportation Survey: Administered most recently in 1995, this survey measures the travel of American households, particularly local, repetitive travel patterns.
The most current available survey: National Personal Transportation Survey 1995
Summary : Summary of Travel Trends 1995 (Presented in PDF)
Trends in Single Occupant Vehicles and Vehicle Miles of Travel Growth in the US: Final Report (1998): A particularly useful reference document, the publication uses a variety of data models to report on the growth in single occupant vehicle travel. (Presented in an Open Book format.)
The Federal Highway Administration’s Environmental Guidebooks, Volumes I — II: Arranged by topics, this two volume set is a collection of the FHWA’s Policy Memoranda and Directives.
The 2001 Urban Mobility Report: This Texas Transportation Institute publication ranks urban population centers, analyzes trends in urban mobility, and presents some recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the metropolitan transportation system. (Presented in PDF)
Transportation Law, Statutes, and Legal Resources:
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century-- TEA-21: A "one-stop" resource, this website includes links to the text of TEA-21, summaries of key provisions, cross-references, fact sheets, and a FY2002 budget.
The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA): This FHWA website provides a quick link to the text of the nation’s "cornerstone" environmental assessment and protection act.
The Federal Highway Administration’s Environmental Guidebooks, Volumes I — II: Arranged by topic, this two-volume set is a collection of the FHWA’s Policy Memoranda and Directives. Topics of interest include:
Chapter 1: Air Quality
Chapter 6: The Cumulative and Secondary Impacts of Transportation Projects
Chapter 13: Public Involvement
Chapter 16: Environmental Justice
Policy directives can be downloaded individually in PDF from each "chapter."
Civil Rights Act of 1964 42 USC 2000(d) — 2000(d) 1: The text of the act can be found at this site in HTML.
Americans with Disabilities Act : Passed in 1990, the provisions of the ADA have been supplemented by the addition of implementing regulations. Those regulations particularly relevant to persons with disabilities and transportation are included..
49 CFR 37, 38: Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities, Adopted 30 November 1993: Companion federal regulations to the ADA that address detectable warnings, standees on lifts, equivalent facilitation, and priority seating
49 CFR 37: Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities, Adopted 1 October 1996
49 CFR 37, 38: Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities, Adopted 1996: Companion federal regulations to the ADA that address bus stop access, paratransit plans, visitor eligibility, and equivalent facilitation)
Olmstead vs. L.C. (98-536, 183 F.3d 893): This resource link will allow you to choose between the case syllabus, the text of the majority opinion, as well as the concurring and dissenting opinions in this landmark US Supreme Court decision. (Texts available in both HTML and PDF)
Executive Order # 13217: In late June, 2001, President Bush released this Order in which he described an initiative by federal agencies to come into compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling on Olmstead
Implementing Title VI Regulations of the Civil Right Act in Metropolitan and Statewide Planning: Released in October, 1999 by the Federal Highway Administration, this memo outlines the appropriate implementation of both Title VI regulations of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the so-called Environmental Justice Executive Order. Included in this memorandum is the clearly-stated and explicit role of the FHWA in holding metropolitan planning organizations and statewide planning entities accountable for their consideration of the environmental justice impacts of transportation activities.
Federal Interim Policy on Public Involvement:An agreement forged between the EPA, FTA, and the FHWA, these federal agencies articulate their agency-wide commitment to proactive public involvement in transportation planning and decision-making, as well as their intention to hold state and local transportation planning agencies accountable for a similar level of commitment and effort.
Environmental Defense Fund, on behalf of itself and its members, Petitioners v. Environmental Protection Agency and Carol M. Browner, (Atlanta Case — Text File)
American Trucking Associations, Inc., et al.,Petitioners v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Respondent (Text file)
Restoring the Rule of Law and Respect for Communities in Transportation: Published in the New York University Law Review in 1996, this article lays out compellingly the need to change the dynamics of transportation decision-making and engineering, asserting that communities "neither can nor should be molded to (fit) the requirements of car traffic" nor traffic engineering which measures achievement of some arbitrary maximum vehicle speed and "efficiency" as its golden rules of success.
Texas References and Resources
Each of the following resources can be found on the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) webpage, but are provided below for the convenience of the user:
Texas Department of Transportation Organizational Chart
Texas Department of Transportation District Map: This map links to webpages for each of TxDOTs 26 district offices and features local news and information.
Texas Department of Transportation Revenue and Expenditures Main Page
Distribution of Total TxDOT Receipts for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 August 2000
Distribution of Total Texas Motor Fuel Taxes for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 August 2000
Distribution of Total State Highway Fund Disbursements
Texas Department of Transportation Construction Project Development Timeline
Texas Department of Transportation’s Unified Transportation Plan: This 880-page document comprising the ten year statewide plan for transportation projects was approved by the Commission on 28 September 2001. (Presented in PDF)
Texas Department of Transportation Construction Project by Categories used in the Unified Transportation Plan: A compilation of summaries that include descriptions, funding breakdowns, and selection criteria for each funding category cited in the Unified Transportation Plan approved by the Commission on 28 September 2001
Texas Department of Transportation Public Transportation Information
Paving the Way (2001): Released in January 2001, Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander assessed the Texas Department of Transportation, characterizing its "business-as-usual" approach as "outdated." The report makes numerous recommendations for simplifying the Department’s processes for decision-making and public investment.
The Rural Transportation Network in Texas (1999): This Texas Transportation Institute resource describes trends in rural transportation investment, the condition of the existing rural infrastructure, and trends in rural travel. The researchers conclude by affirming that rural and urban areas share an important infrastructure need: investment in and construction of a multimodal transportation system. (Presented in PDF)
Full report: The Rural Transportation Network in Texas
Report summary only: The Rural Transportation Network in Texas: A Summary
II. Transportation and Communities: Modes, Money, and Impacts
Modeling, Forecasting, and Planning for Pedestrians, Bicycles, and Multimodal Transportation
Multimodal Transportation Planning Data: Compendium of Data Collection, Practices, and Sources. (1997): While not destined to spend weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list upon its release, this publication provides a foundation for understanding how data is collected, as well as identifying secondary data resources, resources available through the Internet, technical support resources, trends in freight, and passenger data. While not sexy "summer beach reading," the publication is an excellent reference resource. (Presented in an Open Book format.)
Bicycle and Pedestrian Data: Sources, Needs, and Gaps: This 2000 Bureau of Transportation Statistics publication is an excellent and highly-credible resource to use when backing up arguments and testimony on the absence of bicycle or pedestrian-specific data and therefore, accurate modeling of demand. (Presented in PDF)
Literature Review on Vehicle Travel Speeds and Pedestrian Injuries: Provided through the NHTSA, this compilation of data provides a collectively sobering picture of the demographics of pedestrians most likely to be injured or killed, drivers most likely to be involved, and the circumstances of these incidents. This review is jam-packed with credible data, references, and other resources, each of which highlights the need to restructure and retrofit communities to make walking, not only a plausible mode for transportation, but a safe one.
Traffic Safety Briefing- Older Populations (1999): This "brief" by the NHTSA outlines the disproportionate rate of injury and fatality borne by Americans over the age of 65. As NHTSA documents and illustrates in several graphics, in 1999, while persons over age 65 made up only 9% of the nation’s populations, they accounted for 13% of all traffic fatalities, 13% of all vehicle-occupant fatalites, and 18% of pedestrian fatalities. (Presented in PDF)
Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel Demand Forecasting: Literature Review (1997): One of three related studies completed by the Texas Transportation Institute, this initial document suggests four different ways to estimate the travel demand of cyclists and pedestrians which while "untested… represents an improvement upon the existing lack of bicycle and pedestrian demand forecasting tools." (Presented in PDF)
Development of a Methodology to Estimate Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel Demand (1998): This second of three pieces by the Texas Transportation Institute provides an overview of a suggested methodology, thereby addressing the vacuum in data collection that has, in the past, been "unable" to quantify the needs of pedestrians and cyclists in transportation data. (Presented in PDF)
Project Prepares State for Estimating Bicycle and Pedestrian Demand (2001): This four page document provides an overview of the method the Texas Transportation Institute has developed and which, according to the Institute, TxDOT has agreed to use. (Presented in PDF)
FHWA Interim Guidance for Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning at the State and Metropolitan Planning Organization Level: This weblink connects to two FHWA guidances, both issued in 1994, addressing planning for bicycle facilities and pedestrians.
Implementing Title VI Regulations of the Civil Right Act in Metropolitan and Statewide Planning: Released in October, 1999 by the Federal Highway Administration, this memo outlines the appropriate implementation of both Title VI regulations of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the so-called Environmental Justice Executive Order. Included in this memorandum is the clearly-stated and explicit role of the FHWA in holding metropolitan planning organizations and statewide planning entities accountable for their consideration of the environmental justice impacts of transportation activities.
Taming the Automobile: How We Can Make Our Streets More Pedestrian-Friendly: Written by Richard Untermann, author of Accomodating the Pedestrian: Adapting Towns and Neighborhoods for Walking and Bicycling, this article lays out strategies for meeting pedestrian needs.
Focus on Livable Communities: Designing Safe Streets and Neighborhoods: A fact sheet from the Local Government Commission’s Center for Livable Communities, this brief publication outlines structural or design mechanisms, such as traffic calming, that can be used to create pedestrian-friendly communities. (Presented in PDF)
Focus on Livable Communities: Why People Don’t Walk and What City Planners Can Do About It: Written to help citizen-advocates in pressing for pedestrian facilities, as well as to encourage public planners to design communities amenable to walking, one of the nation’s leading pedestrian advocates, Dan Burden, lays out both the factors underlying the sharp decline in the number of Americans who walk and provides recommendations for how we can restore our communities. (Presented in PDF)
Design Factors that Affect Driver Speed on Suburban Arterials: This brief four page document describes structural and/or road design features that can be used to slow driver speed. (Presented in PDF)
Introduction to Pedestrian Advocacy: Produced by AmericaWalks, this guide lays out key advocacy issues for pedestrians. (Presented in PDF)
Building A True Community (2001): Premised on the assertion that accessibility is not an afterthought, the Public Right-of-Way Access Advisory Committee has devised recommendations for a national set of guidelines that define the details necessary to make streetscapes and public rights-of-way accessible for all of their varied users. Developed in a toolbox style, these guidelines recognize that public rights-of-way have historically harbored many transportation activities, including walking, bicycling, and transit, as well as housed private and public infrastructure, such as traffic signals and street lights.
Health and Human Services Transportation Coordination
Transportation Coordination: Benefits and Barriers Exist, and Planning Efforts Progress Slowly (1999): Despite enormous public expenditures, the delivery of so-called "nonemergency human services transportation," such as Medicaid-subsidized transportation or that used by patients using kidney dialysis, remains inconsistently delivered, undermined by an absence of coordination. This General Accounting Office report documents the benefits of coordination, both for clients and agencies, reviews barriers to coordination, references the mandates of TEA-21 that support coordination, and makes recommendations for change and action. (To access this report, enter the following report number: GAO/RCED-00-1 after reaching the webpage cited in the weblink above. Presented in PDF)
Medical Transportation Toolkit and Best Practices: Funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services and provided through the Community Transportation Association of America, the Toolkit contains information for both the related medical and transportation industries as they seek to better coordinate services and funding. (Presented in PDF)
A Guide to Non-Emergency Medicaid Transportation: With profiles of Medicaid programs and "best practices" used in each state, this guide provides medical care providers, transportation providers, and advocates with important and current information on meeting the mandate for services under programs as diverse as Medicaid managed care programs, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and community-based services. (Presented in PDF)
How to Develop a Specialized Transportation Enhancement Program: Developed by Blair Senior Services for Project ACTION, this document outlines a coordination project focused on meeting the needs of rural residents and/or senior citizens, increasing communication between multiple providers, reducing barriers to mobility for persons with disabilities, and identifying transportation needs for those underserved.
Public Transportation and Transit
National Transit Library: A comprehensive "on-line" library, this FTA website has extensive resources to review and download.
Public Transit in America: Findings from the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS): Based on data collected during the most recent NPTS, the authors provide their research findings on the attitudes about and the uses of transit. (Presented in PDF)
Texas Department of Transportation Public Transportation Information
Using Public Transportation to Reduce the Economic, Social, and Human Costs of Personal Immobility (1999): Initiated with an overview of research findings on the benefits of public transportation, this report also includes a compendium of and more detailed case studies of "best practices" in public transportation nationally. (Presented in an Open Book format)
Transportation Cooperative Research Program Synthesis of Transit Practice: Fourteen Innovative Suburb-to-Suburb Transportation Practices (1995): A relatively brief overview of case studies (e.g., Chicago, New Jersey Transit, Grand Rapids, MI, and Ottawa) that identifies, as the title suggests, innovative approaches and implementation to connecting those commuters who are not served by traditional suburb-to-central city public transportation services. (Presented in an Open Book format.)
Evaluating Transit Operations for Individuals with Disabilities: A Final Report (1995): While an older publication, this report identifies twenty innovative operating models, support services, and techniques in use at the time of the document’s publication, most of which remain relevant. Both a cost-and-benefit evaluation of these innovations, particularly feeder services, low-floor buses, fare incentives, as well as rider response to each innovation is included. (Presented in an Open Book format.)
Flexible Funding for Transit: Who Uses It?: This Brookings’ Institute assessment analyzes the extent to which individual states have taken advantage of TEA-21’s flexibility by transferring traditional "highway" funds to support transit. Researchers found that while states such as New York and California invest a sizeable proportion of their funds in transit, Texas falls well below the national average by transferring a mere 4% to sustain, much less bolster much-needed transit. (Presented in PDF)
Strategic Planning: Transit-Oriented Development Case Studies: Although this series of case studies was originally developed to assist the City of Seattle as it approached transit-oriented development for the neighborhoods surrounding its own light rail system, the elements of success and challenge as highlighted in this collection are applicable to a far wider audience. Among the systems highlighted are Atlanta’s MARTA and San Francisco’s BART with discussions of other cities, including Portland, Sacramento, Vancouver, San Diego, Denver, and Los Angeles.
Transit Oriented Development: A series of more than twenty case studies from cities and suburbs across the country, this series highlights examples where transit has successfully "pulled" together communities, neighborhoods, and their residents. Houston is highlighted.
Why Build Near Transit: The Economic and Social Benefits of Transit Oriented Development: Recognizing that transit stops are not just places to get on and off the bus, light rail, or bus, communities have begun to use transit and the areas around transit stops as a central focus for redeveloping older neighborhoods and in creating new, more livable neighborhoods. This article, published in December 1998, discusses the economic and social benefits of transit oriented development.
Work Trips Take New Routes: Commuters have long been the staple of the transit industry. Crowded subways packed with briefcase-toting workers and buses full to the brim during the morning and afternoon rush hours are images that most Americans conjure when picturing public transportation. However, with jobs moving increasingly to the suburbs, the reality is something different. Written by the Community Transportation Association of America’s Communications Director Scott Bogren, this 1996 article discusses these changes, their consequences for communities and transportation, and innovative programs that are being used to connect potential employees, especially low-income workers and those without access to a car, with jobs.
The Transit Toolbox for Rural Areas and Small Communities: A joint publication of the FTA and the USDA, this "toolbox" provides information on the special challenges of transit operations in small and/or rural communities, explains several federal resources that decision-makers and local communities can draw on, and explains the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the US DOT and the USDA in their efforts to better connect rural and small communities
Public Investment in Highways:
National Transportation Statistics Annual Report, Chapter 3: Government Finance (Presented in PDF)
Your State’s Share: Attributing Federal Highway Revenues to Each State: This brief overview by the Federal Highway Administration explains how federal gas taxes are "fed" back to each state.
Highway Taxes and Fees: How They Are Collected and Distributed, 2001: A far more detailed report on the collection and distribution of these resources, this FHWA document can be downloaded chapter-by-chapter in PDF, HTML, or self-extracting Word formats.
Texas Department of Transportation Revenue and Expenditures Main Page
Distribution of Total TxDOT Receipts for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 August 2000
Distribution of Total Texas Motor Fuel Taxes for the Fiscal Year Ending 31 August 2000
Distribution of Total State Highway Fund Disbursements
Texas Department of Transportation’s Unified Transportation Plan: This 880-page document comprising the ten year statewide plan for transportation projects was approved by the Commission on 28 September 2001. (Presented in PDF)
Trends in Single Occupant Vehicles and Vehicle Miles of Travel Growth in the US: Final Report (1998): A particularly useful reference document, the publication uses a variety of data models to report on the growth in single occupant travel. (Presented in an Open Book format.)
The 2001 Urban Mobility Report: This Texas Transportation Institute publication ranks urban population centers, analyzes trends in urban mobility, and presents some recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the metropolitan transportation system. (Presented in PDF)
National Transportation Statistics Annual Report, Chapter 3: Transportation and Consumer Expenditure (Presented in PDF)
Federal Gas Tax: Household Expenditures from 1965 to 1995
Road Kill: How Solo Driving Runs Down Our Economy (1994): The true costs of driving–particularly in one of its most popular formats: solo driving- is the focus of this Conservation Law Foundation report. Included among the costs unaddressed at the "pump" are the health costs associated with increased air pollution, accidents, parking, and vehicular-related public infrastructure expenditures.
Do Highways Matter? Evidence and Policy Implications of Highways’ Influence on Metropolitan Development: This discussion paper extracts the most credible evidence to-date on how highway investments distribute growth and economic activity across metropolitan areas. The authors conclude overall "that changes in metropolitan location patterns are induced by highways, and that these changes are not, on net, without cost." While the authors offer specific recommendations for change, these recommendations are premised on developing a "rational highway investment plan that accounts for the changes in land prices, population, and/or employment growth benefits for one part of the metropolitan area that highways often induce, often coming at the expense of even larger costs elsewhere." (Presented in PDF)
Automotive Safety Issues for Persons with Disabilities: As compiled by NHTSA, this webpage contains a number of studies, statistics, and other consumer information on the use of adaptive technologies, safety concerns, and links for further information.
City Growth and the 2000 Census: Which Places Grew, and Why: In this publication, authors examine the rate of growth between 1990 and 2000 in cities with a metropolitan population of 100,000 or more in the 1990 US Census. Defining as "high-fliers" those cities with a rate of growth of 10% or more and those cities as "modest" with a rate of growth between 2 and 10%, the authors offer a number of reasons to explain these variable rates of growth, including average January temperatures, the proportion of adults with a college education, the proportion of the job market devoted to manufacturing or service industries, and whether or not a city has been "built for cars or designed for mass transit." (Included among the nation’s "high-fliers" are the following Texas cities: Plano, Arlington, Austin, Irving, Mesquite, San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Garland, Pasadena, Dallas and Amarillo, while Waco, El Paso, Abilene, Corpus Christi, and Lubbock are defined as "modest" growers.)
A Rise in Downtown Living: A three-page brief credited to both the Brookings Institute and the Fannie Mae Foundation, the authors project increases in the number of residents living "downtown" in a number of US cities. Included in these projections are Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. (Presented in PDF)
Downtown Rebound: This joint Brookings Institute-Fannie Mae Foundation report analyzes 24 cities of which 18 experienced increases in their downtown populations. Houston and San Antonio, the two Texas cities included in this report, emerge as interesting case examples with Houston’s overall and downtown population increasing in the period between 1990 and 2000, while San Antonio’s overall population has increased while its downtown population has decreased. Reasons for this growth and decline are offered. (Presented in PDF)
The Impact of Future Land Use Scenarios on Suburban Mobility: Using two suburban New Jersey communities (Trenton and New Brunswick), the authors examined the impacts of several regional land use and decision-making policies on transportation, particularly trends in vehicular traffic. Constructing "future-time" scenarios, the authors project significant reductions in the growth of traffic in the presence of policies and incentives that accommodate higher-density mixed use land use.
Employment and Transportation:
Work Trips Take New Routes: Commuters have long been the staple of the transit industry. Crowded subways packed with briefcase-toting workers and buses full to the brim during the morning and afternoon rush hours are images that most Americans conjure when picturing public transportation. However, with jobs moving increasingly to the suburbs, the reality is something different. Written by the Community Transportation Association of America’s Communications Director Scott Bogren, this 1996 article discusses these changes, their consequences for communities and transportation, and innovative programs that are being used to connect potential employees, especially low-income workers and those without access to a car, with jobs.
Office Sprawl: The Evolving Geography of Office Sprawl (2001): Suburbs now contain the majority of office space in many of the country's top metropolitan office markets, according to this survey. Before 1980, central cities dominated the office market, but over the last two decades, office space has become much more dispersed. With a new urban form, an "edgeless city" emerging, the researchers explore the implications of this growth for local governments and for communities. Both Dallas and Houston are evaluated among the thirteen case studies featured in the publication with data available for download. (Full report presented in PDF)
Full report: Office Sprawl: The Evolving Geography of Office Sprawl
Summary Only: Office Sprawl: An Executive Summary
Job Sprawl: Employment Location in US Metropolitan Areas (2001): Using zip code employment files to map concentrations of employers in the 100 largest metropolitan areas, the researchers find four major styles along a spectrum: the "traditional" densely-populated central business district, the emerging decentralized suburban office park-campus construct, and a combination of the two. The authors describe the characteristics of a metropolitan area associated with geographic style of employment, as well as the transportation and growth challenges associated with or exacerbated by each style. (Full report presented in PDF)
Full report: Job Sprawl: Employment Location in US Metropolitan Areas
Summary only: Job Sprawl: An Executive Summary
Barriers to Work: The Spatial Divide Between Jobs and Welfare Recipients in Metropolitan Areas (1998): Analyzing the geographic and transportation mismatch between growing centers of employment and the residential location of welfare recipients, researchers find that the increase in employment centers in sprawling suburbs and the absence of viable public transportation resources to bridge the gap between potential employees and jobs comprise an essential challenge to realizing the employment targets of welfare reform. (Full report presented in PDF)
Full report: Barriers to Work: The Spatial Divide Between Jobs and Welfare Recipients in Metropolitan Areas
Summary only: Barriers to Work: An Executive Summary
Housing Heats Up- Home Building Patterns in Metropolitan Areas: A joint research study by Harvard and the Brookings Institute, this report demonstrates that while the growth of the suburbs has been well-publicized, urban centers are also experiencing strong growth. (Presented in PDF)
Affordable Housing Doesn’t Lower (Suburban) Property Values: Affordable rental housing in suburban communities has little or no effect on the property values of surrounding neighborhoods, according to a report published by the Family Housing Fund, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit advocacy organization. In both a before-and-after analysis and a neighborhood comparison of twelve Twin City neighborhoods where tax-credit rental housing developments were located among majority owner-occupied housing, the researchers compared the sales price per square foot, the percentage of asking-price sales, and time spent on the market. Researchers found neither significant or long-standing differences between these neighborhoods either before or after the rental properties were developed nor between neighborhoods with or without rental properties.
The Olmstead Decision and Housing: Opportunity Knocks (2000): In their December issue of Opening Doors, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities explains the implications of Olmstead in the context of housing for persons with disabilities.
Priced Out in 2000: The Crisis Continues: Published by the Technical Assistance Collaborative and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, this update of a similar 1998 effort documents the shrinking pool of efficiencies and one bedroom rental units that are available and affordable, particularly for persons with disabilities. These units, typically those most sought by individuals with disabilities, are increasingly being "priced out." In the light of the Olmstead ruling, that affordable housing for persons with disabilities is becoming even more scarce is a cruel irony for those persons who now seek to participate fully in their communities.
Full report: Priced Out in 2000: The Crisis Continues
Summary only: Opening Doors, June 2001 issue
Initial research: Priced Out in 1998: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities: Full Report (1998)
National Transportation Statistics Annual Report, Chapter 4: Air Pollution (Presented in PDF)
National Transportation Statistics Annual Report, Table 4-47: Air Pollution Trends in Selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), Selected Years: 1989- 1998 This table includes the following Texas cities: Austin-San Marcos MSA, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth-Arlington, Houston and San Antonio.
National Transportation Statistics Annual Report, Table 4-48: Areas in Nonattainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Criteria Air Pollutants (As of 31 July 2000) This table includes the following Texas cities: Beaumont-Port Arthur, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, and the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria MSA.
The FHWA’s Environmental Guidebook, Volume I, Chapter I: Air Quality: This chapter lays out a relatively comprehensive collection of FHWA memoranda and directives on the air quality implications of transportation. (Policy memoranda and directives, listed in the chapter’s table of contents, are individually presented in PDF)
US Environmental Protection Agency Greenbook: Hands down, this EPA document is the resource for information on nonattainment with the Clean Air Act, criteria pollutants, areas in nonattainment, and standareds.
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act (1993): This four page overview contains a straightforward, relatively jargon-free discussion of the Clean Air Act, including criteria pollutants and the contribution of mobile sources.
Automotive Emissions: An Overview: Complete with pictures, this EPA "pamphlet" explains in simple language the connection between combustion and exhaust pollutants within the context of the Clean Air Act.
Improving Air Quality through Land Use: A five page color brochure, this US EPA document lays out those land uses that yield air quality benefits. (Presented in PDF)
Improving Air Quality through Land Use: A Final Report: An EPA guidance designed to assist state and local governments in planning for and recognizing the air quality impacts of land use policies they voluntarily adopt, the document is designed to be particularly helpful in the construction of State Implementation Plans. (Presented in PDF)
State of the Air 2001: One in a series of American Lung Association publications, this report provides nationwide and regional trends on air pollution with a strong emphasis on the public health impacts of ozone complete with strategic air pollution charts and maps. (Presented in PDF)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards Public Policy Brief: An excellent companion piece to State of the Air, this four-page overview presents the standards which form the basis of the Clean Air Act. (Presented in PDF)
National Safety Council’s Environmental Health Center Air Quality Program: The NSC’s interrelated materials provide a comprehensive layperson’s discussion of air quality, ozone, and air pollution from a human and public health perspective. See: Background on Air Pollution, Ozone Fact Sheet, and Air Pollution Fact Sheet
Moving Ahead: The American Public Speaks on Roadways and Transportation in Communities: For those seeking to craft a message on the need to change our approach to transportation decision-making, this FHWA document provides invaluable insight as it captures the views of Americans on the state of transportation.
A Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Decision-Making: A publication from the FHWA, this document can be downloaded as an HTML file or presented in PDF.
City Routes, City Rights: Building Livable Neighborhoods and Environmental Justice by Fixing Transportation: A relatively comprehensive citizens’ guide published by the Conservation Law Foundation, this document can be viewed on-line (without graphics) or downloaded.
Take Back Your Streets: How to Protect Communities from Asphalt and Traffic: A publication of the Conservation Law Foundation, this document can be viewed on-line or downloaded.
FHWA’s Environmental Guidebook, Chapter 13: Public Involvement: Included within the two volumes of this reference guide are FHWA’s memoranda and policy directives on engaging the public substantively in decision-making, as well as the agency’s explicit commitment to holding accountable metropolitan and statewide agencies for similar proactive responsiveness. (Each policy memoranda, which are listed in the table of contents, are presented in PDF)
Improving Regional Transportation Planning:
Improving Regional Transportation Decisions: MPOs and Certification: One method for holding MPOs accountable is the federal certification process, a requirement established in ISTEA in 1991 and renewed in TEA-21. This paper examines this process, what it has accomplished to-date, issues that have been raised, and its prospects for improving metropolitan transportation planning. According to the authors, a gulf is growing between the expectations of those who feel that the process should be used proactively to ensure that the full potential of TEA-21 is reached while others, particularly federal, state, and local officials see certification as one of several tools that will build the capacity of MPOs in a slower, more evolutionary process. (Presented in PDF)
Enhanced Planning Review of the Transportation Planning Process in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area (1996): A joint study by the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.
Review of the Transportation Planning Process in the Houston Metro Area (1993): A joint study by the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.
Implementing Title VI Regulations of the Civil Right Act in Metropolitan and Statewide Planning: Released in October, 1999 by the Federal Highway Administration, this memo outlines the appropriate implementation of both Title VI regulations of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the so-called Environmental Justice Executive Order. Included in this memorandum is the clearly-stated and explicit role of the FHWA in holding metropolitan planning organizations and statewide planning entities accountable for their consideration of the environmental justice impacts of transportation activities.
Land Use- Transportation Interaction: An Examination of the National Personal Transportation Survey Data: This "National Personal Transportation Special Report" examines the interaction between land use and transportation looks carefully at this issue using data gathered from the National Personal Transportation Survey. (Presented in PDF)
Do Highways Matter? Evidence and Policy Implications of Highways’ Influence on Metropolitan Development (2000): This discussion paper extracts the most credible evidence to-date on how highway investments distribute growth and economic activity across metropolitan areas. The authors conclude overall "that changes in metropolitan location patterns are induced by highways, and that these changes are not, on net, without cost." While the authors offer specific recommendations for change, these recommendations are premised on developing a "rational highway investment plan that accounts for the changes in land prices, population, and/or employment growth benefits for one part of the metropolitan area that highways often induce, often coming at the expense of even larger costs elsewhere." (Presented in PDF)
Growth At the Ballot Box: Electing the Shape of Communities in November 2000 (2001): On Election Day, 2000, voters considered a wide range of ballot measures, each inextricably related to the pace, quality, and shape of growth in their communities and states. Of these 553 growth-related initiatives, 72% passed. Measures designed to preserve open space or build parks were highly popular, while transportation measures received a mixed reception. Regulatory restrictions on growth were controversial and contentious. While no clear consensus on how to grow different has emerged, these measures reflect citizens and governments’ willingness to experiment. Included in this update of the 1999 report are the eighteen local initiatives found on ballots in Texas communities. (Presented in PDF)
Full report: Growth At the Ballot Box: Electing the Shape of Communities in November 2000
Maps: State-by-State Maps of Initiatives (Maps presented in JPG format)
Text listing of initiatives considered by state: State-by-State Initiative Appendix (Presented in PDF)
Livability at the Ballot Box: State and Local Referenda on Parks, Conservation, and Smarter Growth (1999): Drawing on voting in 1998, this Brookings Institute report confirms that voters are overwhelmingly supportive of initiatives that protect open space and conserve land, overwhelmingly voting to support these initiatives at the polls, voting with their wallets by agreeing to spend public money on conservation efforts, and voting with their feet with a notable level of grassroots and citizen engagement. (Presented in PDF)
Alternative State Approaches to Transportation and Land Use Interactions (1999): An overview of land use activities by state Departments of Transportation, this paper discusses how states incorporate (or fail to incorporate) land use considerations into their statewide transportation planning and policy efforts, as well as the direct role state DOTs have in land use and regional decision-making.
III. Demographics of Transportation
Justice in Decision Making by Mutsumi Mizuno, Environmental Action
Transportation and the Provision of Government Services by Jackie Grimshaw, Center for Neighborhood Technology
The Impacts of Siting Transportation Facilities In Low-Income Communities & Communities of Color by Susana Almanza and Raul Alvarez, PODER
Equity in Transportation Investments by Hank Dittmar and Don Chen, STPP
Social Equity, Transportation, Environment, Land Use, and Economic Development: The Livable Community, by Don Chen, STPP
Persons with Disabilities and Transportation:
Olmstead vs. L.C. (98-536, 183 F.3d 893): This resource link will allow you to choose between the case syllabus, the text of the majority opinion, as well as the concurring and dissenting opinions in this landmark US Supreme Court decision. (Texts available in both HTML and PDF)
How to Develop a Specialized Transportation Enhancement Program: Developed by Blair Senior Services for Project ACTION, this document outlines a coordination project focused on meeting the needs of rural residents and/or senior citizens, increasing communication between multiple providers, reducing barriers to mobility for persons with disabilities, and identifying transportation needs for those underserved.
A Guide to Disabilities Law, US Justice Department, May 2000. A great resource for provisions addressing access for people with disabilities in every major federal act
Re-authorization of TEA-21 Position, Rural Transportation for People with Disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) only covers paratransit systems that complement a fixed route system, which leaves out most rural transit programs. Many other artificial barriers and inefficient state and federal policies must be addressed in order to improve general rural transportation.
Making Transportation work For People with Disabilities in Rural America, Brad Bernier, Tom Seekins, & Kitty Herron, 1996.
The Supported Volunteer Rural Transportation Voucher Program
Traffic Safety Briefing- Older Populations
Literature Review of the Status of Research on the Transportation and Mobility Needs of Older Women (2001): Currently, an estimated 20% of American women over the age of 65 do not operate an automobile, either because they have voluntarily stopped driving or because they never have been drivers. However, research shows that for the successive cohorts of American women to follow, nearly all will have been motor vehicle operators. Given advancements in medical care, particularly preventive care, successive generations of American women will not only live longer, but likely drive for more years than their predecessors. While this research points out the missing gaps in data and suggests needed refinements in research and data collection, the authors also direct attention by policy-makers to "championing an evolution of urban and regional design that promotes safe mobility" for older women, either as drivers or non-drivers.
Projecting Fatalities in Crashes Involving Older Drivers, 2000- 2025 (2000); A publication by the Center for Transportation Alternatives at the Oak Ridge National Labs, the researchers provide both the methodology they used, as well as their initial projections that the nation will experience a sizeable increase in the number of crash fatalities involving older drivers as the "Baby Boomers" age. The connection between the difficulty many older drivers have in relinquishing their roles as drivers in the absence of alternatives and the increase in fatalities is explored.
Beyond Social Security: The Local Aspects of An Aging America (1999): In this Brookings Institute publication, the author explores the infrastructure challenges, particularly in transportation, that will face local communities as "Baby Boomers" increasingly age. (Presented in PDF)
Full report: Beyond Social Security: The Local Aspects of An Aging America
Executive summary only: Beyond Social Security: The Local Aspects of an Aging America
How to Develop a Specialized Transportation Enhancement Program: Developed by Blair Senior Services for Project ACTION, this document outlines a coordination project focused on meeting the needs of rural residents and/or senior citizens, increasing communication between multiple providers, reducing barriers to mobility for persons with disabilities, and identifying transportation needs for those underserved.
Low-Income Citizens and Transportation
Daily Travel by Persons with Low Income (1997): Based on the most recent (1995) National Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS), the researchers paint a portrait of transportation use by low-income Americans. (Presented in PDF)
Analysis of Households with Interrupted Telephone Service Using 1995 NPTS: In what started as a brief on the methodological challenges of including the travel patterns of those Americans without a telephone in the National Personal Transportation Survey, the researcher finds that, not surprisingly, those families who had interrupted telephone service are more likely to be of low-income. However, what stands out is that nearly 20% of these families are without vehicles–a finding that has public participation and policy implications for those working to include low-income citizens in transportation advocacy. (Presented in PDF)
Women’s Travel Issues: Proceedings from the Second National Conference- October, 1996: A comprehensive analysis of the women’s travel issues and needs, these proceedings include discussions of the difference in transportation needs experienced by women in urban centers and rural areas; the interaction of gender, race, and ethnicity and their collective bearing on transportation; the mobility needs of older women; the transportation practices and needs of women in "zero vehicle" households; women’s safety and security issues in the context of transportation; and the social context of transportation planning. (Presented in PDF)
Examining Trip-Chaining Behavior: A Comparison of Travel by Men and Women: Based on the most recent National Personal Transportation Survey, the researchers discuss the gender-based differences in travel (e.g., kinds of trips, destinations, time of day) noted. Even with women’s involvement in the labor market at an all-time high, women are still far more likely to bear the substantial load of their family-related errands (e.g., shopping, child care drop-off and pick-ups), according to the NPTS. The larger public policy question of whether and/or how these gender-based differences will be reflected in community transportation planning and design is posed. (Presented in PDF)
Societal Trends: The Aging Baby Boom and Women’s Increased Independence (1997): According to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, female baby boomers will be more likely to own cars, make more trips, and drive more miles when they reach ages 75 and over than older women currently. While this increased dependence and use of cars by women portends additional gridlock and pollution in the near-term, it may add to and complicate further the range of mobility issues and needs that communities will face as female "baby boomers" age. (Presented in PDF)
High Mileage Moms: STPP’s Analysis of Travel By Women (Presented in PowerPoint)
Literature Review of the Status of Research on the Transportation and Mobility Needs of Older Women (2001): Currently, an estimated 20% of American women over the age of 65 do not operate an automobile, either because they have voluntarily stopped driving or because they never have been drivers. However, research shows that for the successive cohorts of American women to follow, nearly all will have been motor vehicle operators. Given advancements in medical care, particularly preventive care, successive generations of American women will not only live longer, but likely drive for more years than their predecessors. While this research points out the missing gaps in data and suggests needed refinements in research and data collection, the authors also direct attention by policy-makers to "championing an evolution of urban and regional design that promotes safe mobility" for older women, either as drivers or non-drivers.
National Survey on Growth and Land Development, September 2000, for Smart Growth America (Word Document))
Community Transportation Survey, February 1998, for AARP: Whether people can maintain their independence in their communities as they age depends in part on their access to the goods, services and social contacts necessary to a good quality of life. This access relies largely on whether they have transportation choices that serve their personal mobility needs and preferences. This 28-page report presents the results and analysis of a survey of 710 respondents age 75 and older about their community travel behavior and preferences. It also explores how older persons perceive the impact of some community design features on their mobility.
BTS Omnibus Surveys, January - Transportation User Trends & September - Mobility and Economic Growth - Each month the survey asks questions relating to one of DOT's strategic goals. This month the Household Survey asked questions about mobility.
Statewide Surveys of Texas Attitudes (1990—1998), Stephen L. Klineberg, Rice University. In late 1990, the first in a biennial series of Texas-wide attitude surveys was conducted out of Rice University. The overall purpose of this continuing research is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the continuities and changes that are occurring among Texas residents in their perspectives on environmental issues. (Word Document)
Community Transportation in Texas — In-Depth Probe Survey (1998), HHSC. Powerful accumulation of telephone interviews to determine the "Why?" behind transportation and mobility problems of random samples of people in Texas who are elderly; are hearing impaired; are visually impaired; have varying disabilities; or have low incomes.
Community Transportation in Texas — Needs Survey (1998), HHSC. Statistically valid quantitative survey of the need for transportation in Texas using random samples of people in Texas who are elderly; are hearing impaired; are visually impaired; have varying disabilities; or have low incomes.
US DOT Omnibus Survey on Mobility (Sept. 2000, Word Document)
