Chapter 6 - Measuring land use performance: from policy to plan to outcome

Abstract

Research in the transportation-land use domain has led to widespread agreement that development patterns of higher density with a mixture of land uses improve access to employment and housing, reduce vehicle miles traveled, and promote the use of collective and nonmotorized modes. However, the processes through which such development patterns are implemented have been less studied, particularly the linkages between broad land use policy of states or regions and the more specific land use plans, polices, and decisions of local governments. Further, assessments of local land use plans have largely emphasized their policy content; evaluations less often consider whether and how the policies are implemented and whether and to what extent they change outcomes. This chapter provides a brief discussion of land use planning in the United States, and then takes stock of the current knowledge on the quality, consistency, stringency, and implementation of plans and policies. It also reviews the methods and data used to evaluate land use policies, plans, and impacts. The chapter shows that evidence of the efficacy of public policies crafted at state, regional, and local levels is mixed, and that efficacy depends in large part on policy design and implementation context. It must also be noted that many evaluations to date have been narrowly focused on plan content rather than on-the-ground impact. Even among those studies examining actual outcomes, few attempt to tease out the effects of the plan or policy from other factors affecting outcomes. Because policymakers, planning practitioners, and researchers have a significant interest in better understanding whether planning mandates can change land use outcomes, new studies designed to investigate these causal linkages are needed.