Civil Engineering In Urban Transportation Planning

Urban transportation planning differs vastly from the ordinary practice which emphasizes the application of the laws of nature. The urban transportation planner deals with people, whose reactions cannot be reduced to simple equations, but it involves also services designated by law as professional engineering. The studies require the services of city and regional planners, highway, traffic and transportation engineers, economists, statisticians, lawyers, and politicians. The administrative head and key staff should have specialized training in urban transportation studies. Civil engineers with such training are best suited for leading roles in comparison with the specialists in the other disciplines. In the absence of appropriate action by civil engineers, various urban transportation functions are being treated as non-civil engineering activities and responsibilities are being vested in others. Civil engineers are not without fault in this diversion. To counter the trend and to take proper responsibility, the civil engineers must encourage the specialized training of their members in the field of urban transportation planning and the creation of a better public image.