Key Transportation Planning Principles--
Integrated Land-Use Planning

Planners who care about sustainability integrate land-use planning with transportation and air-quality decisionmaking. They focus on moving people -- on their feet, on bikes, on transit -- rather than just moving cars. 

This type of planning often uses the "five-minute rule" -- all destinations are within a five-minute walk. Streets, paths, and businesses are attractively designed, so people enjoy their journey. 

With good land-use planning, communities can reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles and reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled. Reducing both of these factors will, in turn, help achieve improved air quality. 
 

**Note:: Sustainable Transportation Planning closely overlaps with many land-use planning issues. Check out the information and resources in the Smart Communities Network Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities section to further explore this topic.

On-Line Articles and Publications 

Ahwahnee Principles for Resource-Efficient Communities 
In 1991, the Local Government Commission brought together a group of leading architects to synthesize new ideas and trends in community land-use planning. The ideas were drafted into a vision document for local elected officials as an alternative to urban sprawl. The document contains three parts: Community Principles, which provides a definition of land-use ideals for communities; Regional Principles, which describes how communities should relate to each other within a region; and Implementation Strategy, which creates a plan for local officials. 

People and Pavement: Transportation Design that Respects Community
A report from the Michigan Land Use Institute that examines the impact context-sensitive design is having on communities. Looks at several case studies in Michigan and makes six recommendations for implementing a progressive context-sensitive design policy, including developing a citizen-led transportation planning process and launching demonstration projects.

Chapter 2: Land Use and Transportation
Part of a larger publication titled Energy Wise Options for State and Local Governments, by Michael Totten and Nina Settina, this chapter discusses such topics as the energy costs of transportation, land-use planning, fuel economy and emissions standards, market incentives for fuel efficiency, and transportation control measures.  

Evaluation of Community Development Types
This piece compares eight different community development types and presents case studies. Discusses infill and mixed-use neighborhoods and analyzes street patterns. 

New Thinking for a New Transportation Age
The Local Government Commission features on its website a factsheet describing transportation principles for livable communities. These principles derive from research and cutting-edge thinking that is often surprising and counterintuitive in that it contradicts many of the axioms of the post war era of automobile-oriented transportation engineering and planning. Among them, are the notions that more and wider roads equate to more traffic, that slower speed limits increase volume and that, yes, walking is transportation too.

Transportation Design for Livable Communities
This policy statement from the Florida Department of Transportation calls for balancing community and transportation needs. 1000 Friends of Florida, which played a role in developing the policy, operates a major transportation initiative and offers numerous online publications. 

What Are Sustainable Communities?
This article discusses the importance of efficient, sustainable infrastructures, including transportation, land-use patterns, and community designs that will increase choices in mobility and access. 

Waikiki Livable Community Project
A federally funded study conducted by the City and County of Honolulu to examine and evaluate how Waikiki's transportation system of public streets, sidewalks, and rights-of-way are used and, how the system might be improved.

Publications 

Transportation-Related Land Use Strategies to Minimize Motor Vehicle Emissions: An Indirect Source Research Study, California Air Resources Board, June 1995. 
This report, based on a research study, provides useful information to help local governments, air-quality boards, and planning organizations develop land use-related programs that reduce automobile use and increase walking, bicycling, and transit use. The report explains the purpose of the study, describes transportation-related land-use strategies, outlines performance goals and strategy recommendations for California communities, and discusses implementation mechanisms. For more information, contact: California Air Resources Board, Transportation Strategies Group, 2020L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Phone: (916) 323-0439. E-mail: helpline@arb.ca.gov

Links 

Context Sensitive Solutions
This website, managed by Project for Public Spaces, explains a new approach to transportation planning that recognizes societal impacts. Context Sensitive Solutions emphasizes a a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that involves all stakeholders to develop a transportation facility that fits its physical setting, and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic and environmental resources, while maintaining safety and mobility

The Transportation for Livable Communities Network
Created by the Conservation Law Foundation, this site emphasizes improvements in transportation to enhance the livability of communities. The site includes articles and reports, a discussion listserv, links, and access to transportation casework.

Livable Communities Initiative
Demonstrates how transit facilities and services can be physically and functionally related to community needs when the community plans an active role in the local planning and design process for such facilities and services. 

TRANSACT
The Transportation Action Network provides transportation, community, and environment information, resources, and contacts. The site is hosted by the Surface Transportation Policy Project.

Habitat and Highways Campaign
Defenders of Wildlife has two objectives for its campaign: to reduce the impact of highways and roads on wildlife and habitat, and to incorporate wildlife conservation into transportation planning.

Last updated: March 30, 2004

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