Integrated Transportation and Land Use Models

Abstract

As an aid to decision making, the important interaction between land use and transportation is receiving increased attention. Although the relationship between land use and transportation is obvious, modeling the interaction has not been as easily accomplished. However, various integrated transportation and land use models exist that seek to analyze this interaction, and this synthesis identifies methods and levels of integration now being used by select agencies to support decision making with the use of such models. These models differ considerably in their complexity and requirements for data, expertise, and resources. They range from relatively simple sketch-based approaches to complex behavioral urban and area-wide models. Models have different appropriate uses, and each differs in the extent to which transportation–land use interactions are captured. The practice affected by these issues was reviewed, and gaps in knowledge and needed research were identified. Information was gathered by reviewing international literature, conducting an initial screening survey to determine which agencies use integrated transportation and land use models, and then selecting seven agencies for in-depth interviews. The seven agencies included one state DOT, five metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and one regional agency in support of MPOs. Based on these in-depth interviews, the researchers identified nine key criteria to use when selecting a land use model for integration with a transport model: open-source software; the level of model developer dependence; modeling expertise within the agency; programming expertise; runtime of the software; advice from an expert panel; support from upper management; transparency within the agency, with partner agencies, and with the general public; and a long-term vision for integrated land use/transport modeling within the agency. This research effort revealed that integrated land use/transport models have a significant influence on decision making. The interviewed agencies reported that model results are used as additional evidence to support (or reject) proposed policies. Given that these models represent the land use/transport feedback cycle explicitly, agencies reported that their modeling efforts generally received more credibility than using a transport model alone. Although data limitations for land use modeling remain a concern, new crowdsourcing sites can provide alternative data sources.

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