National trends point towards new policies linking transportation planning with land use planning and urban design efforts. A recent and exciting announcement by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlining the creation of a high-level interagency task force and the creating of a "Sustainable Communities Initiative" to better coordinate transportation and housing investments identified the following goals:
- More choices for affordable housing near employment opportunities;
- More transportation options, to lower transportation costs, shorten travel times, and improve the environment; and
- Safe, livable, healthy communities.
The Nashville Area MPO realizes its works should consider the varying scale and diversity of communities across the region. The MPO is increasing its efforts to knit transportation improvements and public/private investments so that they merge as seamlessly as possible into the community; and supporting the provision of mixed-use development so that transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, are viable options to the single occupancy vehicle.
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MPO Tri-County Transportation & Land Use Study (2010) The Tri-County Transportation & Land Use Study is a first of its kind effort in our region to bring local governments, citizens, and businesses together across jurisdictional boundaries to talk about significant growth issues. The effort, kicked-off in late 2007, will create a forum for local leaders in the counties of Robertson, Sumner, and Wilson to consider the growth plans of their neighboring communities in an effort to improve their own - all for the sake of regional mobility and prosperity. The MPO will use the effort to generate ideas for the regional transportation plan. Local governments will use the effort to develop or improve upon their own comprehensive plans. |
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Nashville Civic Design Center Urban Design Services (2010) A new partnership between the Nashville Area MPO and the Nashville Civic Design Center to provide recommendations and guidelines for using urban design to revitalize the region's historic arterial corridors, improve transit circulation in downtown Nashville, and to design new bridges in a way that is sensitive to the context around them. |
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Close to another million people will live in the 10-county Middle Tennessee area by the year 2035. Where will they live, work, and play? The MPO's regional land use model takes predicts future development based on land availability and development suitability. |
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Cumberland Region Tomorrow Quality Growth Toolbox The Quality Growth Toolbox produced by Cumberland Region Tomorrow has significantly advanced the region on the key regional issue of Land Use/Quality Growth and Sustainable Development. The Toolbox offers resources and training to local communities throughout the region on the importance of comprehensive planning, community design, and land use, and transportation to support the implementation of Quality Growth in our region. |
