Planning Resource Library
Financial Planning and Fiscal Constraint
Financial Planning and Fiscal Constraint for Transportation Plans and Programs Q&A
- FHWA guidance page for financial planning and fiscal constraint.
- Topics: Financial Planning/Fiscal Constraint
Fiscal Constraint in Long-Range Plans: Best Practice Case Studies
- A collection of fiscal constraint resources from the Transportation Planning Capacity Building Site.
- Topics: Financial Planning/Fiscal Constraint
Land Use
Context Sensitive Solutions and Transportation Planning
- This FHWA website explains the application of Context Sensitive Solutions principles to assist regions and communities in reaching their transportation goals by encouraging the integration of land use, transportation, and infrastructure needs.
- Topics: Land Use
Tool Kit for Integrating Land Use and Transportation Decision-Making
- This FHWA website offers information, tools, techniques, and examples and case studies to address the growing demand for delineating the interrelationships between land use and transportation.
- Topics: Land Use
Metropolitan, Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Best Planning Practices: Metropolitan Transportation Plans
- This report examines the critical role the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) can play as the cornerstone of the metropolitan area transportation planning process, and describes how “best practice” MTPs meet planning challenges in different ways for different regions.
- Topics: Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP)
Census Urbanized Areas and MPO/TMA Designation
- FAQ Resources for MPOs that have recently crossed the 200,000-person threshold into Transportation Management Area (TMA) status.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
Fact Sheet: Metropolitan, Statewide & Non-Metropolitan Planning
- Provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- Topics: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Metropolitan, Statewide & Non-Metropolitan Planning
Metropolitan & Statewide Planning and NonMetropolitan Transportation Planning - 5303, 5304, 5305
- Provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- Topics: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Metropolitan, Statewide & Non-Metropolitan Planning
FHWA Tribal Coordination in Transportation Planning Case Studies
- The FHWA Tribal Transportation Planning Program delivers products and services that provide information, training, and technical assistance to the transportation professionals responsible for planning for the capital, operating, and maintenance needs on Tribal lands.
- Topics: Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
- MAP-21 authorizes the Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program for Fiscal Years 2013-14 with a $25 million formula program and a $5 million discretionary grant program subject to the availability of appropriations.
- Topics: Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Database
- Jointly maintained FTA-FHWA database of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
MPO Certification Review Primer
- This joint FTA-FHWA primer provides a basic understanding of the key concepts and expectations addressed through a certification review, along with references to pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and other resources.
- Topics: Certification Review,Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs),Training & Technical Assistance
- Resources for MPOs that have recently crossed the 200,000-person threshold into Transportation Management Area (TMA) status.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
Performance-Based Planning and Programming Guidebook
- This Guidebook is designed to highlight effective practices to help transportation agencies in moving toward a performance-based approach to planning and programming.
- Topics: FAST Act, Metropolitan, Statewide & Non-Metropolitan Planning
Planning for Transportation in Rural Areas
- FHWA-FTA guide to transportation planning in rural areas.
- Topics: Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Staffing and Administrative Capacity of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
- FHWA research report documenting how MPOs have structured their organizations and allocated staff resources.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
- This report is a semi-popularized overview of transportation planning and provides a basic understanding of key concepts in statewide and metropolitan transportation planning, along with references for additional information. In addition, the report provides plain-English descriptions of key facets of transportation planning.
- Part I discusses transportation planning and its relationship to decision-making. This section is general, and provides a broad introduction to the planning process. Part II presents short descriptions of important policy and planning topics. This section includes more technical information than Part I, but is not intended to provide details of each policy issue.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning,Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
TPCB Metropolitan Transportation Planning
- The Metropolitan Planning focus area page is a one-stop shop for resources about the metropolitan transportation planning process on the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) website.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
TPCB Statewide Planning Process
- The Statewide Planning focus area page is a one-stop shop for recources about the statewide transportation planning process on the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) website.
- Topics: Long-Range Statewide Transportation Plan,Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Traffic Assignment and Feedback Research to Support Improved Travel Forecasting
- This research investigated the current traffic assignment and feedback practices in US MPO models, identified deficiencies, and recommended remedial action.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
Transit at the Table I: A Guide to Participation in Metropolitan Decisionmaking
- The first of three Transit at the Table reports drawing upon case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in planning, this report focuses on transit participation in the metropolitan planning process for larger (>200,000) urban areas.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
- The second of three Transit at the Table reports drawing upon case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in planning, this report focuses on transit participation in the metropolitan planning process for small- and medium-sized (50,000-200,000) urban areas.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
- The third of three Transit at the Table reports drawing upon case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in planning, this report focuses on transit participation in statewide planning in rural areas.
- Topics: Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Transportation Planning Capacity Building Program Tribal website
- The Tribal Planning focus area page is a one-stop shop for resources about tribal transportation planning, consultation, and coordination on the FHWA Transportation Planning Capacity Building website.
- Topics: Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Transportation Planning Implications of Transportation Management Area Designations
- This webinar describes the transportation planning activities required in transportation management areas (TMAs), anticipated outcomes, and the procedural steps to be taken by transit providers, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and States to ensure that the new and changed planning responsibilities are met timely and effectively.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning
Transportation Planning Newsletter
- The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Resource Center, the FHWA Office of Planning, and the Federal Transit Authority’s (FTA) Office of Planning and Environment, regularly publish the Transportation Planning Update Newsletter which highlights important transportation planning activities occurring within both agencies and with our stakeholders and partners.
- Topics: Metropolitan Planning,Statewide and Non-Metropolitan Planning
Planning Grants
- Topics: Planning Grants
Public Involvement & Outreach
Dots & Dashes: Piecing together Transit's Future
- This Public Transportation Participation (PTP) report was developed by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC); it describes the "Dots and Dashes" game, a process Delaware Valley residents and stakeholders used to discuss their priorities for future investments in public transportation.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
- This FHWA resource gives tips on how to engage low-literacy and limited-English-proficiency populations in transportation decisionmaking.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
TCRP Synthesis 99: Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation
- This Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) synthesis report explores the use of social media among transit agencies and documents successful practices in the United States and Canada.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
TPCB Public Engagement Resources
- The Public Engagement focus area page is a one-stop shop for resources about public engagement and equity in transportation planning on the Transportation Planning Capacity Building (TPCB) website.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
Transportation Research Board Committee on Public Involvement
- The TRB Committee on Public Involvement in Transportation strives to provide meaningful opportunities for information development and exchange on public involvement for transportation agencies and other practitioners. This website provides the transportation community with information on research, conferences, publications, training, tools, and techniques related to public involvement in transportation.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
USDOT’s Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making
- This guide helps organizations develop strategies to better involve the public in transportation decision-making. The guide includes practices for transportation professionals to incorporate meaningful public involvement into each stage of the transportation decision-making process and project lifecycle, including operations and service.
- Topics: Public Involvement & Outreach
Scenario Planning
FHWA Scenario Planning and Visualization in Transportation: Visualization in Planning
- The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Visualization in Planning website, for information on noteworthy practices and innovative uses of visualization for transportation planning.
- Topics: Scenario Planning & Visualization Tools
- The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Scenario Planning website, for information about noteworthy practices and innovative uses of Scenario Planning applications for transportation planning.
- Topics: Scenario Planning & Visualization Tools
Scenario Planning Capacity Building
- Joint FTA-FHWA resources and technical assistance for scenario planning.
- Topics: Scenario Planning & Visualization Tools
- FHWA guidebook to assist transportation agencies in carrying out a scenario planning process from start to finish. Transportation agencies can use the guidebook as a framework to develop a scenario planning approach tailored to their needs.
- Topics: Scenario Planning & Visualization Tools
Last updated: Thursday, January 19, 2023