Participatory Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Metropolitan Transportation Planning Scenarios: Assessing Trade-Offs Between Business-As-Usual and Alternate Sustainable Community Designs.

Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the US policy context represent an example of a polycentric governance innovation to mediate persistent conflict between the local and state government agencies. The MPOs are required by federal law to develop a long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), at least every 5 years. Regional-scale priorities in MTP constrain economic growth and environmental sustainability options of local communities. These priorities set up synergies and trade-offs between regional, state, and federal transportation planning systems vis-a-vis local community goals.

This chapter presents an example of a novel policy and planning tool inspired by a participatory Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach as applied to evaluate alternate MTP scenarios in the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Area (CCMPO). This empirical application demonstrates the use of participatory MCDA approaches in formal and informal planning processes. This approach navigates value trade-offs and builds consensus and collaboration on collective action problems among network actors.