‘Hardwiring’ Coordination Among Land‐Use and Transportation Agencies

Abstract

Lack of coordination in the planning of land use and transportation systems in urban and suburban areas across the country often causes severe traffic congestion problems. Interorganizational coordination can be improved by “hardwiring” communications among the various pertinent agencies. Techniques include: the cross membership of policy boards, the creation of interorganizational management groups, the negotiating of memoranda of understanding, the sharing of technical staffs, the creation of project‐oriented task forces comprising active staff members from pertinent entities, and the contracting out of services to sister organizations with expertise in specific areas. This paper describes how coordination was hardwired among the various land‐use and transportation planning agencies in San Diego, and what the coordination has helped to accomplish.