An op-ed calls for an end to five examples of them planning status quo, and recommends four new "rule of thumbs" that can provide a better model for the transportation planning of the future.
Joe Cortright argues that planning rules of thumb are "all thumbs," when it comes to relating transportation to land use. " One of the problems with rules of thumb (or the more academic term, 'heuristics')," writes Cortright, "is that while they may work well in many cases, they may work very poorly in others – and they may be subject to important cognitive biases that lead us to make bad decisions."
Two of the five old rules of thumb, as described by Cortright:
- "We should have a high 'level of service' on our streets."
- "We should plan for a certain number of car trips to be generated by every land use, no matter what it is."
As an alternative to the transportation planning status quo, Cortright also recommends four new rules of thumb, including these two examples:
- "Slower is safer."
- "Our objective should be accessibility, not mobility."
FULL STORY: Our old planning rules of thumb are “all thumbs”
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research