UNCHARTED WATERS: THE SUPER-REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY

Beginning in the late 1970s, regional growth patterns in the U.S. began to change in several ways. First came the rapid development of urban fringes. Propelled by a generally healthy economic environment, lower land values at the fringe, and increasing interstate transportation access, many cities, particularly in the southeast and southwest, experienced phenomenal growth at the edge. Second, the space inside large metropolitan regions began to fill up as regional development spread across the area. Third, metropolitan "superstrips," covering in some cases several hundred miles, evolved on a relatively large scale. Fourth, recreationally based "rec-opolises" began to evolve, containing high levels of activity for certain periods of the year, underpinned by a narrowly-based economy dependent on recreational development. Each of these changes accelerated demands on the transportation system to handle commuter traffic generated by these changes, and put pressure on organizations responsible for managing and planning for change. In each of these situations the older-style 1960s' urban transportation planning process was ill-equipped to plan effectively for the new "super-region." This article describes the situation in the Charlotte, North Carolina region and recent efforts to evolve new forms of agencies capable of dealing with these pressures.

• Record URL:
  • https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c104685899?urlappend=%3Bseq=383
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/7938948
• Corporate Authors:

  Eno Transportation Foundation

  P.O. Box 2055, Saugatuck Station
  Westport, CT  United States  06880-0055
• Authors:
  • Hartgen, D T
  • McCoy, W J
• Publication Date: 1990-7

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 363-387
• Serial:
  • Transportation Quarterly
  • Volume: 44
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Eno Transportation Foundation
  • ISSN: 0278-9434

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuting; Metropolitan areas; Transportation departments; Transportation planning; Urban sprawl; Urban transportation
• Geographic Terms: Charlotte (North Carolina)
• Old TRIS Terms: Fringe area
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496747
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM