Document Actions
Transportation
Public Policy
- Accessible Transportation
- Environmental Justice
- Innovative Transportation Technologies
- Safety and Security of Public Transportation
- Telework
- Transportation Lobbyists and Policy Groups
- Urban Sprawl and Land Use
Accessible Transportation
Resources related to making transportation accessible to persons with physical disabilities or economic disadvantages, and making access to transportation equitable for persons of varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Access Board
- An independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. Their responsibilities include developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information; providing technical assistance and training on these guidelines and standards; and enforcing accessibility standards for federally funded facilities.
- Paratransit
Eligibility Manual
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires that public entities which operate non-commuter fixed route transportation services for the general public provide complementary paratransit services. This manual, commissioned by the Federal Transit Administration, addresses planning issues and specifies elements of an ADA paratransit eligibility policy.
- Transportation: Disability.gov
- Information on accessible transportation systems, community transportation initiatives, and federal laws and regulations to improve access and availability of bus, rail and air travel.
- Transportation as a Civil Rights
Issue
- Tutorial created by Government Documents Librarian Sally Lawler.
Environmental Justice
Resources for studying the inequitable environmental burden born by groups such as racial minorities, women, or residents of developing nations, and the power structures that tend to interfere with environmental reforms.
- The
Environmental Guidebook: Title VI & Environmental Justice
- Access regulations concerning implementation of Title VI of the 1965 Civil Rights Act. The intention is to ensure that the U.S. transportation system does not unfairly affect any one segment of society and that benefits are distributed equitably.
- Environmental
Justice
- A 1994 Presidential Order directed every Federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission. The DOT's goal is to ensure the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process and ensure nondiscrimination.
- Implementing Title VI Requirements
in Metropolitan and Statewide Planning
- This memorandum offers clarification on compliance with Title VI of the 1965 Civil Rights Act and the President's Executive Order on Environmental Justice in relation to transportation planning.
- NEPA and Project Development
- The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) sets a vision for how the government should work to incorporate protection and enhancement of the environment into its decisions and actions. It was enacted to ensure that information on the environmental impacts of any federally funded action is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made and before actions are taken. See also the Federal Highway Administration's 1994 Environmental Policy Statement.
- Transportation Equity
in Los Angeles: The MTA and Beyond
- Provides documentation of Labor/Community Strategy Center v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a class-action suit that resulted in a court-ordered consent decree to improve bus service for low income people of color.
Innovative Transportation Technologies
Information about unconventional or advanced technologies and techniques in power sources, vehicle design, convenience, safety, and other aspects of transportation.
Advanced Vehicles and Alternative Power Sources
These resources explore ways to meet the ever-increasing demand for transportation goods and services while striving to minimize adverse energy, environmental, and economic impacts. Advanced vehicles and alternative fuel or power technologies can reduce the nation's dependence on imported oil and improve our energy, security, and air quality.
- Alternative Fuel Vehicles
- Information concerning alternative fuel vehicles.
- Alternative Fuels Data Center
- This site has more than 3,000 documents in its database, an interactive fuel station mapping system, current listings of available alternative fuel vehicles, and lots of alternative fuels information and related links.
- Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division
- Researches and educates the public about propane and other environmentally beneficial fuels that can help reduce air pollution in Texas.
- Biomass Research and Development Initiative
- A multi-agency effort to coordinate and accelerate all Federal biobased products and bioenergy research and development, including biobased fuels.
- Center for
Transportation Technologies and Systems
- Works toward developing advanced vehicle and fuel technologies and moving them from research and development to the marketplace. Research areas include: FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies, Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies, and Biomass Programs.
- Consider the Alternatives: Alternative Fueled Vehicles and Alternative Vehicle Fuels (Federal Trade Commission)
- Federal Trade Commission document explains labeling requirements for alternative fuels, including methanol, ethanol, compressed natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas.
- Didik.com - Alternative Vehicles
- Created by an inventor and manufacturer of human and solar-powered vehicles, as well as electric- and hybrid powered-vehicles. Of particular interest are Didik's articles concerning the history of electric vehicles.
- Electric Cars and
Alternate Fuel Cars
- A large collection of links to electric car resources.
- Energy Web Directory - Alternative Fuels, Alternative Fuel and Electric Vehicles, Advanced Transportation Technologies
- A list of resources provided by the California Energy Commission.
- Fuel Cells 2000
- A useful introduction to fuel cells, complemented by a collection of information resource links.
- hybridcars.com
- A collection of information about hybrid cars, including a Gas Mileage Impact Calculator.
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Newsletter
- The voice of the international hydrogen and fuel cell communities, covering events and developments in this emerging field as they occur.
- HyWeb: Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Information System
- Information and news about research and application of hydrogen fuel cell technology with a European focus. The HyWeb Gazette posts newsworthy item about energy and fuel cell usage.
- Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium
- A non-profit association of private and public sector firms and agencies working together to promote advanced vehicle technologies in the Northeast United States. Serves as the principal multi-state, non-profit funding mechanism for advanced transportation research, technology development and demonstration in the region.
-
Review of the Research
Program of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles
(2001)
- An online review of the government initiative Partnership for a New General of Vehicles (PNGV). The federal government and the U.S. automotive industry formed in 1993 a partnership to establish global technical leadership in the development and production of affordable, fuel-efficient, low-emissions that meet today’s performance standards. This project was ended in 2003 by the Bush administration and replaced by the FreedomCAR initiative.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
ITS implies the application of communications and computing technology to the improvement of transportation systems, especially with regard to convenience, efficiency, and safety.
- DFW ITS
- Fort Worth and Dallas District offices of the Texas Department of Transportation have joined forces with local governments to launch a comprehensive traffic management program using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
- Intelligent Transportation Society of America
- Provides news information about the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) industry.
- Intelligent
Transportation Systems
- The national ITS program, which aims to use advanced technology to improve the efficiency and safety of our nation's surface transportation system, addresses both information- and infrastructure-based approaches to achieving its goals.
- Intelligent Transportation Systems
- A directory of links to ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) resources on the Web and in print.
- National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol
- If traffic control and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are to work together in a coordinated fashion, there must be standards for the interchange of data between different software and hardware components. This site is the place to go to stay abreast of such standards and their development. This project is funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The development of these standards for system interoperability are a requirement of the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21).
- National Transportation Operations Coalition
- An alliance of national associations, practitioners, and private interest groups to help improve the management of U.S. transportation systems. The National Associations Working Group, developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, is a formal committee for outreach and communications for NTOC.
-
Real-Time Traveler Information Program
- 511 is a national travel information service being rolled out across the country. This national ITS program aims to use advanced technology to improve the efficiency and safety of our Nation's surface transportation system. See also Resource 511 for links to related resources.
Safety and Security of Public Transportation
Information on the steps being taken to ensure the safety and security of persons using public transportation systems.
- Federal Transit Administration: Safety and Security
- Provides research, statistics, publications related to transit safety and security.
- Public
Transportation Security Issues
- Offers publications on a variety of issues related to terrorism and security for public transportation.
- Transportation Security
Administration
- The TSA's mission to protect the nation's transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce. The site provides travel alerts and advice.
- Transportation
System Security
- TRB and The National Academies have generated extensive information on transportation security in recent years. This Web site brings together much of this information.
-
U.S. Government Relations & Policy Issues: Homeland Security
- Contains new developments in port security and legislative news.
Telework
Information about the practice of working from home through telecommunications links, eliminating the need for work-related travel.
- Beyond Telecommuting: A New Paradigm for the Effect of Telecommunication on Travel
- Prepared by Global Telematics for the U.S. Department of Energy, this report explores the phenomenon of travel substitution, whereby telecommuting replaces commuting between home and work and also argues that increased telecommunications actually stimulate an increase in travel.
- Canadian Telework Association
- Non-profit association devoted to advancing telework in Canada. Topics include taxes and telework, cost benefits, and broader impacts.
- European Telework Online
- Offers a European perspective on telework and telecommuting issues.
- Global Telematics
- This policy research and consulting firm provides information on Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and telework. Of particular interest is the section on the regional implications of TOD.
- Interagency Telework/Telecommuting Site
- The US General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Personnel Management have established this site as a clearinghouse for information about telework for Federal employees.
- International Telework Association & Council
- ITAC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the growth and success of work independent of location. Members share information about the design and implementation of teleworking programs, the development of the U.S. telework sector, and research.
- Live/Work Institute
- A non-profit entity that advocates, encourages, and assists the development of true Live/Work and Zero Commute HousingTM. On this Web site you can find information about the basics behind live/work architecture, examples of built and planned live/work projects, ideas about live/work and community, information about live/work planning and building codes, and news on the latest issues involving live/work.
-
National TDM and
Telework Clearinghouse
- This USDOT-funded project includes information about alternatives to driving alone and telework programs to meet the congestion, air quality, and mobility challenges facing our communities.
- Telecommuting - Telework and Alternative Officing (Gil Gordon Associates)
- Consolidates a wide variety of information from around the world, and from many different perspectives, on the subjects of telecommuting, teleworking, the virtual office, and related topics
Transportation Lobbyists and Policy Groups
Individuals and agencies that promote certain social and political policies and interests related to transportation.
- Association of Drivers Against Daytime Running Lights
- This association actively opposes the effort to place Daytime Running Lights (now known as DRLs) in every vehicle manufactured or sold in the United States.
- Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
- Represents the interests of MPOs (Metropolitan Planning Organizations) and provides technical assistance.
- AUTOCIDE
- Learn about the specific problems of an auto-culture and what you can do to help reduce our society's dependency on cars.
- National Center for Policy Analysis
- This Dallas think tank is a good source of pro-growth perspectives. An easy way to navigate this site is to use the search feature using keywords such as "sprawl" or "land use."
- National Motorists Association
- A membership organization that advocates, represents, and protects the interests of North American motorists. It purports to be the organization that promoted federal legislation that eliminated the 55-mile-per-hour National Maximum Speed Limit in 1995. Takes positions on matters such as traffic calming, perceived as being contrary to the interests of motorists.
- Preservation Institute: Transportation and Development Politics on the Web
- A collection of resources critiquing to development of the "modern" city.
- The Public Purpose: Wendell Cox Consultancy
- Opposes most public transit projects and growth-control initiatives. Has as its guiding principle: "What government does for one it should do for all; What government does not do for all it should do for none."
- Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
- Advocacy group whose original goal was to work toward creating a nationwide network of public trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors. Also engaged with the federally-mandated recreational trails program.
- Reason Public Policy Institute
- Works to develop policy changes that foster individual responsibility, choice, and competition. RPPI believes that a dynamic world, conducive to discovery and innovation, is essential to prosperity and human progress. RPPI's transportation and urban land use programs are especially relevant.
- STPP
- Tracks transportation policy developments, including developments pertaining to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Maintained by the Surface Transportation Policy Project. See in particular the TEA 21 User's Guide.
- Texas Public Policy Foundation - Transportation
- A non-profit research institute guided by the core principles of limited
government, free enterprise, private property rights and individual
responsibility. Its work is conducted by academics across Texas and is
funded by individuals, foundations and corporations.
- TRIP: The Road Information Program
- Founded in 1971, TRIP is a nonprofit organization that promotes transportation policies that relieve traffic congestion, improve air quality, make highway travel safer, and enhance economic productivity.
- Wildlands CPR
- A clearinghouse of resources related to reducing the impacts of roads and off-road vehicles (ORVs).
Urban Sprawl and Land Use
Resources for researching and combating the problem of cities and their suburbs spreading out over rural land at the fringe of urban areas.
- American Farmland Trust
- Works to stop the loss of productive farmland. Produces technical reports that document the loss of farmland.
- American Planning Association
- APA is a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional, and rural planning.
- Center for Livable Communities
- Helps local governments and community leaders be proactive in their land use and transportation planning, and adopt programs and policies that lead to more livable and resource-efficient land use patterns. It is under the aegis of this organization that the influential Ahwahanee Principles were drafted in 1991.
- The Congress for the New Urbanism
- Advocates development practices that support the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions. Objectives include the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, the conservation of national environments, and the preservation of our built legacy. The organization's charter serves as a kind of manifesto for smart growth advocates.
- Demographia
- Advocates choice with respect to urban development, supporting freedom to live and work where one prefers. Offers the counter-arguments to smart growth and the New Urbanism. Provides population data for all US metropolitan areas for each decennial census from 1900 to 1990 and 1998 estimates, and provides information about development impacts and market research and urban policy.
- EPA Smart Growth
- An online resource designed to facilitate and support smart growth. The site offers information about smart growth policies, funding sources, networking opportunities, technical tools and resources, and much more.
- Farmland Information Center (FIC)
- Clearinghouse for information about farmland protection and stewardship. The FIC is a partnership between the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and American Farmland Trust.
- Implications of Automated Highway Systems on Land Use Patterns
- Edward Beimborn surveys land use effects of technologies that preceded automated highway systems (AHS) (e.g., personal rapid transit, pallet systems and HOV lanes) and draws lessons from those experiences.
- Issues: Smart Growth
- Brief and in-depth articles about the problem of urban sprawl and various suggestions for combating sprawl and preserving our natural resources.
- Metro
- Metro is the directly elected regional government serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Portland is well known for its land use planning initiatives. Their transportation and growth management pages are especially relevant.
- NCI: National Charrette Institute
- A Charrette is a rigorous and inclusive planning process undertaken by an inter-disciplinary design team over a brief time period. This Web site offers information about this type of dynamic planning.
- PLANETIZEN: The Planning and Development Network
- A portal where one can find the latest news of interest to the planning profession.
- The Planner's Web
- From the publishers of The Planning Commissioner's Journal, this site supplies information on current trends and issues in city and land use planning. Aimed at a non-specialist audience.
- Project for Public Spaces
- Assists communities in the development of vital public places such as parks and transit facilities that serve as catalysts to regenerate surrounding communities.
- Smart Growth America
- Coalition of national, state
and local organizations working to improve the ways we plan and build
the towns, cities and metro areas we call home. Smart Growth America works with citizens across the country to preserve
our built and natural heritage, promote fairness for people of all backgrounds,
fight for high-quality neighborhoods, expand choices in housing and transportation
and improve poorly conceived development projects. Page includes a section on Transportation, discussing its role in smart growth and sprawl.
- Smart Growth Online
- The Smart Growth network strives to create coalitions in favor of smart growth. Smart growth is defined as: "1) Environmentally smart -- protecting air and water quality, enhancing access to nature and encouraging brownfields redevelopment. 2) Fiscally smart -- paying for itself and providing high quality municipal services without constantly rising property taxes. 3) Economically and socially smart -- promoting community economic vitality, livability, resource efficiency, equity and sense of place." The Network's partners include the EPA, environmental groups, historic preservation organizations, professional organizations, developers, real estate interests; local and state government entities.
- Sprawl City
- A
Web site about consumption growth and population growth and their roles
in urban sprawl. This Web site emerges from the work of environmental
authors Leon
Kolankiewicz and Roy Beck to help the
public make more ready use of federal
data on sprawl and rural land loss.
- Sprawlwatch Clearinghouse
- Strives to make the tools, techniques, and strategies developed to manage growth accessible to citizens, grassroots organizations, environmentalists, public officials, planners, architects, the media and business leaders. Excellent content, with links to many different organizations involved in this issue.
- Stop Sprawl
- The Sierra Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign works to fight poorly planned runaway development and promotes smart growth communities that increase transportation choices, reduce air and water pollution, and protect our natural places.
- Sustainable Transportation
- Introduces concepts and principles of sustainable land use and transportation planning. Includes success stories, codes and ordinances, articles, etc.
- Traffic Calming Library
- Traffic Calming is the combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. This site contains resources for communities looking to implement traffic calming measures.
- Travel Model Improvement Program
- Travel Model Improvement Program (TMIP) helps planning agencies improve the techniques they use to inform their decision makers on how growth in population and employment, development patterns, and investments in transportation infrastructure are likely to affect travel, congestion, air quality, and quality of life.
- Trust for Public Land
- Works to protect land for human enjoyment and well-being. Promotes urban parks, gardens, greenways, and riverways; interested in watershed protection, scenic beauty, and close-to-home recreation; works to safeguard the character of communities by preserving historic landmarks and landscapes.
- The Urban Land Institute
- A major player in transportation and land use policy. Its mission is to to provide responsible leadership in the use of land to enhance the total environment. The Web site contains research reports, best practices, and current news.
- Urban Sprawl
- Excellent article explaining what urban sprawl is, summarizing the objections to urban sprawl, and summarizing responses to the critics.
