Background

The Transportation and Regional Growth Study is a research and educational effort designed to aid the Twin Cities region in understanding the relationship of transportation and land use. Many regions of the country are experiencing rapid commercial and residential development, often accompanied by population growth and growth in the total area of land developed. This has caused a range of concerns, including the direct costs of the infrastructure needed to support development and the social and environmental side effects of development patterns.

This study is an effort to better understand the linkages between land use, community development and transportation in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It is designed to investigate how transportation-related alternatives might be used in the Twin Cities region to accommodate growth and the demand for travel while holding down the costs of transportation and maximizing the benefits. The costs of transportation are construed broadly and include the costs of public sector infrastructure, environmental costs, and those costs paid directly by individuals and firms. Benefits are also broadly construed. They include the gains consumers accrue from travel, the contribution of transportation and development to the economic vitality of the state, and the amenities associated with stable neighborhoods and communities.

Structure

The project has two components. The first is a research component designed to identify transportation system management and investment alternatives consistent with the region's growth plans. The Study encompasses six research projects:

1. Twin Cities Regional Dynamics
2. Passenger and Freight Travel Demand Patterns
3. Full Transportation Costs and Cost Incidence
4. Transportation Financing Alternatives
5. Transportation and Urban Design
6. Institutional and Leadership Alternatives

The first three research areas are designed to gather facts about the transportation system and its relationship to land use in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The other three research areas will use these facts to investigate alternatives in financing, design and decisionmaking that could have an impact on this relationship. Results of this research is and will be available in a series of reports published for the Transportation and Regional Growth Study.

The study's second component is a coordinated education and public involvement effort designed to promote opportunities to discuss the relationship between transportation and growth based on the research results. It is believed that this dialogue will help increase knowledge and raise the level of awareness about these issues among the Study's many audiences including policy decison-makers, agency professionals who implement policy, stakeholder groups who influence policy and members of the general public who experience the consequences.

Sponsors

The TRG Study is coordinated by the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies (CTS). In addition to CTS, sponsors of the Study include the University's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities, and the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB).