Transportation policy and planning comprises the whole context of economic, social, and political actions that determine the distribution of development, goods, and services. Economic development planning, environmental planning, housing and community development, and urban design are all linked by travel and transportation systems. Transportation access significantly affects quality of life, and differences in opportunities between rich and poor, men and women, young and old, and people of different racial, ethnic and social origins. Thus, the analysis of transportation policy includes questions of production and distribution - how efficiently are services provided, who pays, and who benefits. Such transportation questions in turn lead to more fundamental ones about the functions of planning and public policy.

Overview

A leading center of transportation policy research in the U.S., our program is especially strong in the study of transportation/land use relationships, transportation as a tool of economic development, transportation politics and finance, and transportation and environmental issues. Our program emphasizes developing a broad, multi-faceted understanding of the historical, spatial, economic, social, and environmental factors affecting transportation issues. Graduates of this program tend to work for regional, state, and federal planning agencies, international and advocacy organizations, and for transportation consulting firms.

The Transportation Policy and Planning area of concentration gives students a broad overview of current transportation policy and planning issues. While the program emphasizes domestic urban transportation policy, all aspects of transportation policy and planning - inter-city, international, goods movement, and so on - are covered. Students learn about the relationships between transportation systems and metropolitan development patterns; they debate policies to address traffic congestion and urban sprawl; they explore proposals for high-tech traveler information systems within cities and high-speed rail systems between cities; they use travel forecasting models to predict travel behavior; they study the relationships between transportation access, poverty, and economic development; they learn about transportation finance at the federal, state, and local levels; and they examine policies and programs that aim to reduce the environmental costs of mobility.

Many of the transportation courses include field visits to meet with transportation policy experts at places like the Port of Long Beach, Union Station/Gateway Center, and the Los Angeles International Airport. Since 2000, student-initiated Comparative Transportation Policy courses have taken students to Berlin, London, and Mumbai (Bombay) for a week of field trips and meetings with local transportation and planning officials. In addition, the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies offers transportation policy research opportunities for dozens of students each year, sponsors an ongoing lecture series that brings important transportation speakers from government, research, and private industry to the UCLA campus, and provides fellowship support to over a dozen graduate transportation policy and planning student each year.

Course Requirements:

The Transportation Policy and Planning area of concentration consists of two core courses and three electives. At least one of the electives must be an analytical course (that is not counted as a core course), and at least one of which must be a policy/planning course.

Core Courses: TWO required

M254 Transportation, Land Use, and Urban Form (PP M220)
plus either
*M255 Transportation Planning (PP M244)
or
C&EE 180 Introduction to Transportation Engineering
or
252 Parking, Transportation, and Land Use

Analytical Courses: (at least one course not counted toward the core requirement)

C&EE 180 Introduction to Transportation Engineering
C&EE 181 Traffic Engineering Systems: Operation & Control
M206B Advanced Geographic Information Systems (PP M224B)
*M255 Transportation Planning (PP M244)
*M256 Travel Behavior Analysis (PP M221)
*219 Special Topics in the Built Environment: Transportation and Urban Design Studio
252 Parking, Transportation, and Land Use

Policy/Planning Courses: (at least one course)

*M257 Transportation Economics, Finance, and Policy (PS M222)
M258 Transportation and Environmental Issues (PS M223)
*259 Transportation and Economic Development
8249 Special Topics: The Politics of Traffic Congestion
*249 Special Topics: Comparative Urban Transportation Policy Field Study Course

*courses not offered 10-11

Sample TPP Curriculum