Urban transportation and land use: executive summary

Abstract

This commentary on urban transportation and land use explores the complex relations among activity, movement, and land use. It identifies techniques for coordinated land and transportation development that support goals of increasing transportation efficiency, reducing need for motor-vehicle travel, improving quality of urban life, and maintaining vitality of cities. It addresses such diverse topics as urban form, carpooling, travel disincentives and restraints, walking, zoning, travel behavior, citizen participation, access design, noise, development management, and many others. Confirmed by the analysis were two underlying premises: transportation and land use are quite interrelated physical elements of very complex urban systems with myriad impacts on social, economic, environmental, resource, and other elements; and urban government will continue to be largely responsible for physical development within cities and will be increasingly held accountable for its actions and decisions by a well-informed public. Information is presented for use by local policymakers, citizens, and professionals. Federal and state roles are supportive in nature, providing financial assistance and using their larger resources to develop, assimilate, and disseminate quality information so essential for local decisions. Implementation of current knowledge would make our cities more hospitable, efficient, and stimulating places in which to live, work, socialize, and play.