Rural Transportation Logo

Planning for Transportation Together: Collaborating to Address Transportation and Economic Resilience

In This Article:

In 2016, the NADO Research Foundation released the report Planning for Transportation Together: Collaborating to Address Transportation and Economic Resilience (PDF).

Cover of report showing people looking at a map togetherAcross the nation, state agencies and regional planning and development organizations are working together and with other partners to create jobs, improve access to employment, education, and essential services, and to advance quality of life in communities and regions. Transportation facilities, infrastructure, and services are critical components to support these economic and quality of life outcomes, along with other policies and investments. Transportation can be an economic asset where the system allows for access to the workforce, resources, and markets. As a feature of the landscape, a region’s roads, paths, and services also support community vitality.

Transportation and economic development efforts occur through both a mix of state-led policies and programs that include local and regional input and participation, as well as more locally developed priorities that benefit from state funding and technical assistance. Top-down and bottom-up efforts often work together, as policies and plans adopted at the state level have provided a useful framework for regions to complete their own transportation and economic development planning and project development.

This report presents case studies that demonstrate how state agencies and regional planning and development organizations are working together on deliberate interventions to produce tangible benefits that are specific to the context, are sustained over time, and make a place more resilient.

The case studies include:

  • Not Just Another Road Construction Project: Intersection Enhancement in Denmark, South Carolina
  • Addressing Employers’ Transportation Concerns in Minnesota
  • Smart Scale, Smart Investments in Virginia
  • Pennsylvania Highway Occupancy Permit Reviews: Considering Development Impacts
  • Promoting Progress in Northwest Michigan: Implementing the Regional Prosperity Initiative
  • Fostering Regional Economic Resilience through Transportation Accessibility Enhancements at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock, TX
  • Florida’s Six Pillars Framework: Sharing a Unified Approach among State and Regional Agencies
  • Paths to Economic Prosperity: The Cross Kentucky Master Trail Plan

Read the report here (PDF).

To view PDFs, use Adobe Reader.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Additional Resources

Newsletter

Click the button below to receive NADO and Rural Transportation news and information directly to your inbox.