The future – it’s coming. And what will it bring with it? What will happen to where and how people live, work, and play? And how will these changes affect communities economically and physically? 

The WFRC began the 2023-2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) process with a focus on exploring and understanding external forces (market shifts, transportation technologies, and policy approaches) that would impact our transportation, land use, and economic development decisions. The intent of this approach is to elevate the discussion of these planning uncertainties and understand these changes as a Region. 

Following initial research and literature review, WFRC compiled a list of over 20 topic areas of external forces and policies that were presented to and discussed with peer groups. The peer groups were grouped by topic (active transportation, local communities, transit and on-demand travel, and roadways) and consisted of staff from local governments, agencies, and businesses whose work is directly tied to, or may be heavily influenced by, the identified forces. The purpose of the peer groups was to hold space for meaningful dialogue on the identified influences and policies, develop consensus on which external forces were important to address, approximate the range of impacts from these forces, and determine whether these influences and policies should be tested through simulated scenarios. Each peer group meeting included a discussion of each force as well as a poll asking each participant how impactful they believed each force would be in the future. WFRC used these discussions and polling results to inform and guide the 2023-2050 RTP planning process.