1. TRB Planning Applications Conference
URBANSIM FOR ALL
TRB Planning Applications Conference
May 18, 2017 – Raleigh, NC

2. Transportation Planner, PPACG
Jennifer Valentine
Transportation Planner, PPACG
Jennifer Valentine is a transportation planner with 12 years of experience working in various types of organizations, including consulting, non-profit, local government and MPOs. She grew up in North Carolina, but has lived and worked in Colorado since Her work has focused on multimodal transportation planning; the relationship between transportation and land use; and fostering supportive environments for active transportation.

3. Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments
Colorado Springs, CO
PPACG is voluntary association of 16 municipal governments serving the Pikes Peak region.
We are the region’s designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation and its lead air and water quality planning agency. PPACG also administers the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and provides direct services to older citizens through our Area Agency on Aging.

4. PPACG’s MPO Planning Area
Mountains to Plains
LAND AREA
POPULATION
Two-county planning area covers 2,660 square miles.
Base year population is about 685,000 people.
EMPLOYMENT
MILITARY
Base year employment is about 360,000 jobs.
Five military installations with over 35,000 active duty personnel.

5. 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan
Abbreviated Timeline
Vision + Goals
Needs Identification
Plan Approval
Public outreach, survey, working with advisory committees.
Bridge + pavement condition, traffic counts, web mapping exercise.
Plan must be approved by our Board of Directors by November 2019!
Data Collection
Small Area Forecast
Project Scoring + Selection
Base year population, employment and conditions data.
Population + employment allocation, extensive scenario planning.
Call for projects, scoring, and selection. Develop fiscally constrained project list.
2016
early 2017
2016 to 2017
ongoing
2018
2019

6. OUR EVOLUTION TELUM TO URBANSIM A PPACG FIRST URBANSIM FOR ALL
PPACG used TELUM, a free software program from FHWA, for 12 years with moderate success.
Sought a more rigorous process and enhanced scenario development capabilities.
A PPACG FIRST
URBANSIM FOR ALL
We are one of the first organizations in the nation to use the cloud-based version of UrbanSim!
The pre-packaged, cloud-based version of the program has made UrbanSim accessible to all types of organizations.

7. UrbanSim is an econometric modeling tool that simulates land use, transportation, and public policy decisions to forecast the location of jobs and housing. It simulates real-world, market and development behavior.
Inputs
Outputs
Travel Model Zones
Population Control Totals
Employment Control Totals
Travel Model Skims
Zoning
Developments + Constraints
Future year population distribution
Households + businesses by type
Land use + units of housing by type
Building square footage + density
Land prices + improvements by type

8. Benefits + Challenges UrbanSim Cloud State of the art modeling tool
Detailed data inputs improve accuracy
Robust scenario development capabilities
Fostered collaboration with partners
User interface streamlines process
Data requirements
Employment data for base year
Zoning for multiple cities, towns, counties
Getting developments from partners!
Growing pains from being early adopters

11. Jennifer Valentine
Paul Waddell
Conor Henley