Urban Transportation Planning

This essay sample essay on Urban Transportation Planning offers an extensive list of facts and arguments related to it. The essay’s introduction, body paragraphs and the conclusion are provided below.

Community visions and goals are fundamental in the process of urban transportation planning. This is because the vision indicates the results and outcomes that the community seeks to accomplish after a specified period. Consequently, developing a vision is incomplete without the inculcation of goals and objectives, which integrate to create a goal set (Meyer & Miller, 205).

The importance in developing a vision and a goals set in a respective community is to enable it plan different strategies and perform specific tasks and activities that will assist the community in accomplishing the stated goals and objectives and thus determine whether the plans matched with the vision and goals set in place. In order to understand the effect of a community’s vision and goals set on the urban transportation planning procedure, it is important to consider three communities that possess different visions and goals sets.

Question 1

The Cleveland Community

One of the communities is the Cleveland community. Cleveland is the central hub of the state of Ohio. Located in the county of Cuyahoga, the community possesses a considerable population of 396815 people (The City of Cleveland, 2013). The overall vision and goals set for the community are set based on achieving vitality, energy and connection in the community. Therefore, the vision of Cleveland community is to ensure that it strives to achieve the status of being a Community for Choice for its residents.

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Consequently, the goal set is to ensure that it becomes a community that embraces vitality, vibrancy and connection for locals and foreigners.

The Santa Monica Community

The Santa Monica community situated in Los Angeles County in the state of California possesses a considerably large population. The population density per square mile is 10664 people. The total population is currently at 89736. The community emphasizes its vision and goals on maintain maintenance in the community. The community possesses eight goals based on the overall vision. These goals include preservation of resources, community and environmental health, transportation, economic progress, land employment and open space, housing, community participation and edification and individual dignity (Community Sustainability Program: Santa Monica, 2013).

The Detroit Community

The Detroit Community is the largest community in the state of Michigan. Located in Wayne County, the Detroit Community possesses a population of over 713777 civilians in the city (City of Detroit, 2013). The community bases its vision and goals set on the creation of a community that protects its civilians against effects of substance abuse. Thus, the vision of the Detroit community is to ensure that the community’s capacities are sustained to lessen the amount of deaths related to alcohol-related automobile accidents, juvenile drinking prevalence and issues of substance abuse in the community.

Question 2

The Cleveland Community possesses a vision that it seeks to accomplish before 2020. The vision is based on propelling the community’s status to become one of the major cities in the state of Ohio. Accordingly, Cleveland focuses on alleviating its vision by ensuring that it accomplishes its goals of being the preferred choice for residents and foreigners alike. Additionally, the goal of the community is a prospect conceived and supported by the city’s incumbent administration. Thus, the vision of the Cleveland Community is ensuring that it becomes a Community of Choice for its residents and foreigners alike. Being a Community of Choice according to the Cleveland administration means that persons residing within the neighborhood as well as persons visiting the community find Cleveland to be a place that caters for the diverse needs and requirements. Hence, residents and visitors alike will deem Cleveland as a preferred choice due to the availability and accessibility of the amenities it provides, which in turn assist the people in fulfilling their personal objectives.

Typically, the input used in the definition of a vision is the fundamental aspect that is capable of influencing the manner in which the vision is articulated. Therefore, the inputs create the foundation that will determine the contents of the respective vision. The vision of the Cleveland Community implies Vitality, Vibrancy and Connection. These three factors are the main inputs that define the community’s vision. This is because they determine the prospects that the community possesses in order to achieve their desired states. Additionally, the inputs of Vitality, Vibrancy and Connection in the community’s vision allow for understanding and inculcation of specific components that are relevant in performing according to the vision of the community. The vision of the Cleveland community is centered on three factors.

The first factor is Vitality. Based on vitality, the vision is based on making Cleveland community an important community that possesses a prosperous economy defined by novel employment opportunities in information technology, product design, expert services, superior manufacturing, medical research and health care. The second factor based on Vibrancy embarks on making Cleveland a 24-hour area with a lively downtown and centers within the neighborhood that will enable people to shop, work, eat and visit places that provide accessible transportation. The last factor involves Connection. The Cleveland community seeks to become a community that ensures residents maintain connection to all available amenities and concurrently maintain connections with one another.

Question 3

The objectives relating to the vision of the Cleveland community are based on ensuring that residents and enterprises are catered to positively in order to facilitate the community’s vision. The community possesses several objectives that it seeks to accomplish in the year 2020. Foremost, Cleveland plans to be the main center of advanced manufacturing. Secondly, the community plans to be the pioneer in education improvement via partnerships. Thirdly, Cleveland plans to be a community with racial diversity and enough space to attract prominent entrepreneurs. Fourth, Cleveland plans to ensure supplementary and objective security in the neighborhood. Additionally, Cleveland plans to ensure sustainable development that will be focused on approving vital infrastructures such as its transportation network. Moreover, Cleveland plans to ensure that more employment opportunities are created. The community also plans to make the neighborhood a center for creative art and culture. The community also plans to ensure that its residents live a fit lifestyle through creation of bike paths, walkable routes and recreational facilities.

Question 4

In order to ensure that the objectives are fulfilled, Cleveland has been embarking on activities that facilitate the long-term plans. Based on advanced manufacturing, Cleveland has invested considerably in acquiring novel technologies for existing industries. The community has also formed partnerships that will assist in providing resources based on students’ needs in order to facilitate education. Cleveland has also expanded institutions such as Cleveland Orchestra in order to facilitate art and culture in the community. Moreover, the community has engaged in environmental projects that focus on ensuring a healthy life for the environment and at the same time creates healthy lifestyles for residents through development of bike paths and provision of recreation activities for residents of all ages and sizes.