Do Highways Induce Sprawl? Coming to Grips with the Land Use Impacts of Road Projects

A common argument in planning circles against road projects is the routine assumption that it will induce urban sprawl. There is, however, surprisingly limited empirical research and directed guidance for practitioners about conditions under which this argument holds true and the extent to which sprawl is induced by road construction. In this study, we estimated the indirect land use impacts of a proposed new highway near Portland (ME) using an integrated land use/transportation model. Based on our findings, we propose that a land use/transportation modeling approach, informed by planner judgment, is an increasingly cost-effective way of addressing this common challenge. This Viewpoint provides evidence that integrated land use/transportation models help decision makers to consider multifaceted impacts of transportation infrastructure investments.