Environment
Transportation planning and project development must reflect the desires of communities, and take into account the impacts on both the natural and human environments. Transportation projects are closely looked at to see how they might impact the community, the natural environment, and our health and welfare. Before any project can move forward to construction, the FHWA must address and comply with laws related to the environment. These laws cover social, economic, and environmental concerns ranging from community cohesion to threatened and endangered species. To get through this detailed process, FHWA and FTA use the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to evaluate impacts associated with each individual project.
Three offices within the Federal Highway Administration focus on environmental protection and enhancement. The offices of Natural Environment and Human Environment primarily focus on environmental programs associated with air quality, climate change, sustainability, noise, and on programs associated with the built environment, including transportation enhancements, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The Office of Project Development and Environmental Review focuses on NEPA project development process as a balanced and streamlined approach to transportation decisionmaking that takes into account the potential impacts on both human and natural resources and the public's need for safe and efficient transportation improvements. Information regarding the full range of FHWA environmental programs can be found on this website. If you don't see the topic you are looking for, check our Subject Index.
Upcoming Events
2020
- USDOT's Complete Trip-ITS4US Deployment Program Webinar Series: Webinar 6, Privacy Security, and Open Data
(April 9)
- Transportation Research and Education Center's Moving Toward Equitable Transit-Oriented Developments by Integrating Transit and Housing
(April 10)
- National Scenic Byway Foundation's Heartland Byways Conference
(April 14 - 16, 2020)
- Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' Planning Physical and Digital Infrastructure for Micromobility
(April 15)
- TRB's Demanding Data--Transactional Data for Demand-Responsive Transportation
(April 16)
- National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program
(April 22 - 25, 2020)
- American Planning Association National Planning Conference
(April 25 - 28, 2020)
- TRB's The Intersection Between Health and Transportation
(April 27)
- TRB's What Role Does Ecology Have in Transportation?
(April 30)
- National Shared Mobility Virtual Summit
(May 5 - 6, 2020)
- Transportation Research and Education Center's Connected Vehicle System Design for Signalized Arterials
(May 12)
- Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals' 2020 Vision: Through the Lens of Equity
(May 20)
- Micromobility America Conference
(July 16 - 17, 2020)
- Walk/Bike/Places Conference
(August 4 - 7, 2020)
- Transportation Research and Education Center's Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation Workshop: Comprehensive Bikeway Design
(August 24 - 28, 2020)
- Sustainability and Emerging Transportation Technology Conference: Shaping the Future of Mobility
(August 31 - 2, 2020)
- NACTO's Designing Cities 2020
(September 14 - 17, 2020)
- AASHTO 2020 Joint Policy Conference: Connecting the DOTs
(September 29 - 1, 2020)
- AMPO's Annual Conference
(October 26 - 30, 2020)
