Urban Transportation Planning in the 1980s

TRB Special Report 196: Urban Transportation Planning in the 1980s are the proceedings of a conference in which government officials, transportation planners, consultants and academic experts considered emerging problems and recommended appropriate technical and institutional responses.

The conference participants identified and discussed the following: new requirements for urban transportation planning in light of shifting federal, state, and local needs and responsibilities; technical procedures and methods that have proven appropriate in meeting emerging requirements; and research needs in light of the new requirements for transportation planning. A wide varying panel discussion covered the evolving relationships among federal, state and local governments and their implications for future urban transportation planning. Presentations were made by panelists. Resource papers by technical experts stressed the basic strength and continued relevance of existing urban transportation models, another emphasized planning based on analysis of past experience, and a third considered ways to make planning more responsive recent social and economic trends. The central themes of the conference were addressed in 5 workshops which considered the following: long-range regional transportation planning; project planning--evaluation of alternatives and impacts; planning for transportation management and operations; planning for financing, implementation and evaluation; and the future of the urban transportation planning process.