Linking land use, transportation and travel behavior in Ohio

This study developed a Regional Land Use Allocation Decision Analysis Tool, which enables decision makers to quantify the impacts of population and employment distribution in terms of the resulting VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled). The study addresses the need for improving our understanding of the links between land use and transportation and provides ODOT a user-friendly modeling tool to develop forecasts based on different land use, transportation, and policy scenarios. The Regional Land Use Allocation Decision Analysis Tool developed through this study has two main components: a Land Allocation Component and a Transportation Component. This tool forecasts the impacts of future land use policies in Ohio, based on alternative assumptions of highway and mass transit corridor development, zoning and environmental constraints, regional growth or decline projections, and changes in travel associated with auto trip generation rates and trip distances.