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About the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization
Each Urbanized Area with a population of 50,000 or more is required by Federal Regulations to have a designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) with the responsibility of conducting a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process. In the Indianapolis region, the City of Indianapolis, Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) is the designated MPO. The MPO staff is comprised of the planners from the Transportation Section of the DMD Division of Planning.
Currently, all MPO's are governed by federal legislation called the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The MPO planning process is a prerequisite to the area receiving federal funds for airport, transit and highway improvements.
Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA)
Transportation planning is regional in scope because the transportation system cuts across governmental boundaries and improvement programs require the cooperation and participation of all levels of government.
The MPO is responsible for transportation planning in the area defined by the most current Census as being urbanized, plus the area anticipated to be urbanized by the year 2020. This area is known as the Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA). The present MPA is based on the 2000 Census and includes all of Marion County and portions of the surrounding counties of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Shelby, Morgan and Johnson where suburban growth has occurred.
Counties, Cities and Towns within the MPA, together with State and Federal oversight agencies, comprise the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council. Follow the link for more information on the individual member jurisdictions.
Core Activities of the MPO:
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