POLICY STRATEGIES FOR IOWA IN MAKING MAJOR ROAD INVESTMENTS

Transportation investments are one of the primary tools for achieving social and economic policy objectives. They can help foster economic development, influence the patterns of growth within and around cities, and improve social equity. To achieve their potential as policy levers, transportation investments must be carefully thought through. This means that policy makers must have a good sense of the likely effects--positive and negative--of each alternative investment under consideration. The objective of this monograph is to provide a basic framework for estimating these effects. The monograph emphasizes the three key areas of economic development, land use and urban form, and social objectives because these are typically the most central considerations in Iowa when major transportation investments are contemplated. Chapter 1 provides an introduction. Chapter 2 examines trends in Iowa which reveal that rural areas and metropolitan areas are changing in very different ways. Chapter 3 examines arguments for building new or upgraded roads or highways in the interest of economic development. Chapter 4 examines the relationship between highway investments and urban form (land use patterns across the community). Chapter 5 examines social issues and suggests a comprehensive framework for examining the social and economic effects of a possible highway investment. Chapter 6 contains a summary and discussion of policy implications.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Iowa, Iowa City

  Public Policy Center
  227 South Quadrangle
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242-1192

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010
• Authors:
  • Forkenbrock, D J
• Publication Date: 2002

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 70 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic development; Economic impacts; Investments; Land use planning; Metropolitan areas; Rural areas; Social impacts; Sustainable development; Transportation planning; Transportation policy; Urban growth
• Geographic Terms: Iowa
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Society; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00964873
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 15 2003 12:00AM