Real Estate Services Fact Sheet

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Planning, Environment and Realty's (HEP) Surface Transportation Environment and Planning Cooperative Research Program (STEP) ended on September 30, 2012. For current HEP research information, please see HEP's research web site.

The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) research program funds projects that strengthen transportation planning and environmental decisionmaking. This document highlights recent research projects focused on real estate servicesthat were conducted to achieve this goal. To learn more about FHWA's research efforts, visit: www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/.

Researchers completed the Realty Acquisition and Relocation Assistance Incentive Payments: The Flexibility Put to Practice report and "How-To" guide in the fall of 2012.
Researchers completed the Identification of Best Practices and Implementation Processes for Voluntary Acquisitions research project in the fall of 2012.
Researchers completed the Property Management Tools and Techniques - Models for the Effective Management of Real Property Assets at State Departments of Transportationreport in the fall of 2012. The final report is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/real_estate/publications/property_management_tools/.
The Visualization for ROW Acquisition report was completed in June 2012.The report was available for review at www.fhwa.dot.gov/real_estate/publications/
visualization_for_row_acquisition/.
The Alternative Uses of Right of Way (ROW) report was released in January 2012. The final report is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/real_estate/publications/alternative_uses_of_highway_right-of-way/.
Researchers completed the Business Relocation Assistance Retrospective Study in the summer of 2012. The final report is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/
business_relocation_assistance/
final_report/.

Research and MAP-21:

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) authorized funding for a new FHWA research program that strengthens transportation planning and environmental decision-making. Realty plays an important part in ensuring the planning and environmental processes are successful.

The research program's key components include projects and programs that:

Minimize the cost of transportation planning and environmental decisionmaking processes, highway infrastructure, and operations.
Improve transportation planning and environmental decisionmaking coordination and processes.
Minimize and reduce the potential impact of highway infrastructure, operations, and surface transportation on the environment.
Improve construction techniques and reducing congestion and related emissions.
Reduce the impact of highway runoff on the environment.

The details of the program are being finalized. Please visit www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/ to find the latest information about this program and FHWA's research efforts.

To learn more about research in real estate services, please contact:

Real Estate Program Stewardship
Arnold.Feldman@dot.gov

Tribal Lands
Richard.Coco@dot.gov

Local Public Agencies
Carolyn.James@dot.gov