Transportation and the Economy: Part 1. Alternative U.S. Futures for Transportation Policy and Planning

Abstract

The primary task of this report series is to provide conceptual and analytical frameworks and data for (1) assessing the productivity of resource use in the transportation sector and (2) facilitating transportation system adjustments to local and regional economic change. The report series provides a regional data base showing likely changes in the volume and variety of commodity and passenger traffic within a given region and between the region and the rest of the State and the rest of world. The regional data also show present and prospective transportation expenditures for transportation services and facilities. This report starts with the most widely accepted US statistical series representing alternative global and national futures that critically influence local and regional economies. It provides an overall frame of reference and supporting data for the use current transportation origin-destination models to demonstrate the implications of state and regional shifts in population and economic activity for transportation systems planning. It helps build an ongoing capability for monitoring changes in state and regional economies and introducing these changes in shaping and evaluating of transportation development priorities.