Planning Digests

This study examines the relationships between the built environment and walking for utilitarian purposes among adult residents of small rural towns in the United States.

A study of two transportation planning public engagement methods and how their findings can best be incorporated into transportation plans.

This paper examines the history of, and extent to which Texas Rural Railroad Transportation Districts (RRTDs) have preserved rail infrastructure and implemented rail-based development projects.

Researchers surveyed people in rural Montana to examine factors that influenced travel decisions, and to examine how active travel affects Body Mass Index (BMI).

This report provides a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of transit systems in rural and small urban areas in the United States.

This paper examines the motivations for and barriers to cycling experienced by the volunteers and participants of a folding bike-loan program in a small town in California’s Central Valley.

This tool provides smart growth economic development strategies for stable economic growth in small cities and towns.

This report documents the development of a smart growth assessment tool for rural communities, designed by the EPA and tested in Madison County.

This report details the implementation of a bicycle and pedestrian counting initiative that used sensors for automated counting and produced models based on collected counts.

This project analyzed traffic impacts of the capacities of urban and rural signalized intersections.

This report analyzed the relationship between the built environment (BE) and walking in rural small town areas compared to walking in a large metropolitan area.

This study compares the mobility of Hispanic people in the United States to those of other racial and ethnic groups, and examines the mobility issues of recent Hispanic immigrants.

This research investigates the feasibility for other data collection methods for small and mid-sized MPOs, such as GPS data from a smartphone.

This research investigates accessibility to supermarkets in order to evaluate food opportunities for users of different modes of transportation.

This research considers areas of improvement for MPOs in Texas, focusing on travel demand modeling practices.

This report consists of case studies of best practices in community and transportation planning throughout Tennessee.

This guidebook gives direction to the development of innovative practices at metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).

This study observed trends in transit-oriented development (TOD) – the practice of shaping development patterns in order to encourage transit ridership.

This study used statistical modeling to quantify the effects of land use, with emphasis on isolating the effects of transit systems.

This report analyzes bicycle and pedestrian investments included in STIPs and MPO planning documents.

This handbook aims to provide transportation practitioners with guidance for rural and small-town specific geographic, fiscal, and other challenges.

This handbook aims to provide insights into small, rural communities’ and the relationship between development patterns, land use, and increased driving.

This research designed traffic monitoring programs for non-motorized modes of transportation in small, rural communities.

This report identifies areas of improvement for the American Community Survey (ACS), including methods for surveying small geographic areas and efficiently meeting new data needs.

This report documents the development of mode choice models for use at MPOs throughout Texas.