ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to address the book theme of innovation in evaluation methodology, with particular reference to the wider, second-order and cumulative effects of plans and interventions. Land use/transport interaction (LUTI) models are probably the most complex quantitative models used in any aspect of urban and regional planning, and they have quite a long history. Yet it is relatively unusual in the UK to see these models used in a central role to support strategic planning, although they are quite widely used in the evaluation of specific transport infrastructure proposals and wider “multi-modal” studies of corridors or city regions. LUTI models should in principle be highly relevant to the assessment of wider effects of plans and interventions, because they can forecast how the key land-using activities (business and employment, housing and population/households), the use of transport systems, and associated markets may be expected to change over time, taking account of the transport infrastructure and its performance. Such models can inform the appraisal of strategic options, for example for
transport infrastructure or for the location and form of new housing development. Their outputs can potentially cover a range of sustainability criteria including transport emissions and other environmental impacts, property market viability, neighbourhood mix and quality, and broader economic growth. As such they could have a role in adjudicating competing claims about the economic and other benefits of major proposals.
