Performance Evaluation

Lombard Street San Francisco

*Video: Explaining Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)

Conventional planning evaluates transport system performance car-centric indicators such as roadway Level-of-Service (LOS). Many jurisdictions are shifting to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), which supports multimodal planning and Smart Growth policies.

January 31, 2019 - Fehr and Peers via YouTube

Four-Lane Freeway

Reform Transport Engineering: Expand Beyond Just Roadway Level of Service (LOS) Ratings

Transportation engineers currently evaluate urban transport system performance using roadway level of service (LOS) ratings. Here are six good reasons to change.

September 29, 2014 - Todd Litman

Share Your Ideas for Evaluating Transport System Performance

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), the new U.S. federal transportation law, has the following main goals: Safety Infrastructure condition Congestion reduction System reliability Freight movement and economic vitality Environmental sustainability Reduced project delivery delays  

October 21, 2012 - Todd Litman

A Very Good Example of Very Bad Transportation Performance Evaluation

Some things are so very bad that they are good, for the sake of amusement and as examples to avoid. Of course, everybody makes mistakes, but some massive disasters involve so many errors by so many people that onlookers can also wonder, “What were they thinking?!”

November 8, 2008 - Todd Litman

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.