Concerned citizens across the country are speaking up about the role of land use and transportation planning. They’re asking government officials how proposed new highways and alternatives to highways, such as transit and road pricing, will affect their communities, the air their children will breathe, and the amount of time they will spend in traffic commuting to work.
As a result, over the past ten years, regional “visioning” analyses have become increasingly important. Visioning refers to scenarios that allow stakeholders to explore how their community goals can be achieved through alternative futures, rather than just one point-estimate of the future. A visioning exercise may include a no-build scenario, a highway-oriented scenario, a transit-oriented scenario, a pricing scenario, or some combination of elements of alternative scenarios.
IMR researchers are exploring alternative futures using a range of advanced land use, transportation, and emissions models. Researchers are currently studying the environmental justice implications of “smart growth” versus urban sprawl, and the uncertainty in models used in transportation, land use, and air quality planning. Past research has included: smart growth, investment, and travel pricing; carsharing and carfree housing; advanced transit and highways; and the Smart Mobility Model project.