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53
C H A P T E R 7
Community Factors
Background Literature project development stage but also are found earlier in the
state and regional transportation plans. The literature con-
Transportation improvements can enhance quality of life in cerning environmental justice covers legislative and regulatory
a variety of ways, but only if planned, designed, constructed, requirements, types of considerations, methods, and processes
and maintained with appropriate sensitivity to existing com- to determine outcome equity, and evaluation techniques
munities and the environment (Cambridge Systematics, Inc., (Forkenbrock and Sheeley, 2004; Cambridge Systematics, Inc.,
2002c). Several interrelated concepts highlight methods and 2002a; Cambridge Systematics, Inc., 2002b).
practices that transportation practitioners can use to achieve Just as CSS and environmental justice require nontradi-
positive results for both the transportation systems and com- tional partnerships with resource agencies and community
munities they serve. These concepts include context sensitive stakeholders, capitalizing on relationships between trans-
solutions (CSS) (also referred to as context sensitive design),
portation and land use requires collaboration between trans-
environmental justice, and the transportation and land use
portation agencies and municipalities. Decisions concerning
relationship.
transportation and land use have historically been made in
CSS is an approach to increasing safety and mobility of
a related, but nonintegrated, fashion. The NEPA process
transportation facilities while preserving scenic, aesthetic, his-
requires a review of land use impacts in the environmental
toric, environmental, and community values. A 1998 national
impact statement (EIS), and beginning with the Intermodal
conference titled "Thinking Beyond the Pavement" brought
Surface Transportation Equality Act (ISTEA), federal legisla-
together transportation practitioners of all specialties and pri-
tion requires consideration of land use impacts. Interest in
vate sector and citizen stakeholders to discuss how to:
integrated planning efforts, including access management,
· Integrate highway development with communities and the
mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, and
environment while maintaining safety and performance; smart growth has subsequently grown throughout the trans-
· Encourage continuous improvement; and portation industry over the last decade (Cervero et al., 2004;
· Achieve flexible, context sensitive design in all projects. Cambridge Systematics, Inc., 2004; Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade
& Douglas, Inc., 1998; Rose, 2005).
Several key reports review the history and legislative backing Several efforts have attempted to provide guidance for quan-
for CSS, terminology, recent CSS activities, and general frame- titatively measuring community impacts of transportation
works for implementation (Neumann et al., 2002; Flexibility in projects and their distribution among segments of the popu-
Highway Design, 1997; Cambridge Systematics, Inc., 2002c). lation (TransTech Management, Inc., 2004; Forkenbrock and
While CSS focuses on harmonizing transportation projects Weisbrod, 2001; Cambridge Systematics, Inc., 2002a; The Louis
with communities and the environment, environmental jus- Berger Group, Inc., 2002; Ward, 2005; Cambridge Systematics,
tice considers the distribution of benefits and burdens across Inc., 2004; Edwards, 2004). Quantitative models (requiring the
space, social groups, and time. Environmental justice perfor- use of input measures) are used to predict transportation and
mance measures are often the same as performance measures land use interactions (ICF Consulting, 2005). Several common
in other categories (e.g., mobility, accessibility, safety, impacts measures of community impacts are:
on human health, and the environment) but are distinguished
for different population groups. Environmental justice consid- · Number of residents exposed to noise in excess of estab-
erations are required as part of the NEPA process during the lished thresholds;
