Census Urban Areas and MPO/TMA Designation
Introduction
Although the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has no direct role in the Census Bureau's designation of urban areas, these geographical areas are critical to the administration of FHWA's programs, including, but not limited to:
- Designation of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and the application of metropolitan transportation planning requirements for MPOs,
- Designation of Transportation Management Areas (TMAs) and the application of metropolitan transportation planning requirements for TMAs,
- Distribution of Metropolitan Planning (PL) Program funding from State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) to MPOs,
- Allocation of Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program funding to urban and rural areas,
- Assigning functional classifications to roadways and reporting data on the extent, condition, performance, use, and operating characteristics of the nation's highways through the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS),
- Designation of critical rural and urban freight corridors for the National Highway Freight Program (NHFP),
- Applicability of MPO Performance Plans and traffic congestion and on-road mobile source emissions performance measures for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program,
- Application of transportation conformity requirements for air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas, and
- Application of outdoor advertising control requirements for urban areas.
The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) discuss the implications of the 2020 Census urban area designations for FHWA's programs. Questions not addressed here can be directed to the appropriate staff contacts in the FHWA Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty. However, questions concerning the criteria used and the process of designating urban areas should be directed to Census Bureau staff at geo.geography@census.gov.
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