

Access to Jobs, Economic Opportunities, and Education in Rural Areas
For the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), Project 08-131, EBP is developing a framework for the integration of accessibility evaluation in rural transportation policy, investment, and planning decisions.
The objective of the study is to provide a tool for rural transportation planners and providers to improve accessibility in rural areas, addressing deficiencies. EBP's work includes a review of the state of the practice, including interviews and case studies, with special attention paid to tools for evaluating accessibility and the data sources required to support those tools. Based on information gathering, the firm is developing a framework that includes practical guidance products. In Phase II of the research, we will test guidance products in a practitioner workshop, before finalizing the guidance framework.