The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is considering a new policy that will add considerations about regional economic inequities when evaluating potential highway projects.

"Recognizing that highways reward some areas and penalize others, [Northeast Ohio’s] top transportation planning agency is drafting a policy to quantify whether adding new interchanges to the system would exacerbate historical patterns of inequity," reports Steven Litt.
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is federally mandated to oversee transportation planning for the region that includes Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Lorain and Medina counties.
"By developing the new policy, NOACA aims to look beyond a traditionally narrow focus on safety and mitigation of traffic congestion to consider broader impacts on regional economic development patterns, transit, and environmental sustainability," according to Litt.
"Criteria under consideration, and reviewed in the most recent meeting of NOACA’s policy committee on July 10, include whether a new interchange would facilitate redevelopment of 'declining and abandoned areas,‘' or encourage transit-oriented development in areas with higher densities of population." NOACA is expected to make a decision about the new policy by December. If approved, the new policy would immediately apply to eight projects in the planning pipeline.
An earlier article by Litt details NOACA's work on eNEO2050, a 20-year vision for the region that promised to focus on social equity, particularly for households without cars. That plan is expected for completion in 2021.

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Judge Extends NYC Congestion Pricing Through at Least June 9
A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s effort to kill the program, which remains in limbo as a lawsuit filed by the MTA moves forward.

LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals
Last year, the city permitted just 30 percent of the number of housing units needed to meet a growing need.

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home
Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service