POST-CLASSICAL TRANSPORTATION STUDIES

In the 1950s and 1960s transportation planning was largely synonymous with highway planning and little attention was paid to public transit. The late 1960s and 1970s were marked by a departure from this classic approach with four new aspects: (1) Less reliance on computer models; (2) More public participation; (3) Wider range of criteria for evaluation; (4) Increased interest in transit alternatives. This post-classical approach is helpful for cities with controversial transportation issues because it allows an outside agency to make one-time, clear-cut recommendations having credibility that is not influenced by existing institutions. Its approach can be more constructive and less recriminatory than that of a regional planning commission which has watched its reports gather dust or of a transportation agency that wants to eliminate interference and get on with the job. The applicability of the post-classical style that marked planning in Boston and Toronto is well on its way to becoming part of the accepted North American planning process.