Sustainability Tools in Action

This paper discusses how a regional greenhouse gas inventory is an important sustainability tool for coordinating land use and transportation planning across levels of government to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Many metropolitan planning organizations have taken regional leadership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation sector. However, the direct connection between transportation and land use patterns requires the integration of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies into local land use planning for successful VMT reduction. This paper reviews tools developed by two metropolitan planning organizations, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and discusses the practical application of these tools to land use planning at the county and municipal levels. The master plan for Passaic County, New Jersey, provides a case study that demonstrates successful use of the NJTPA greenhouse gas management tool for integration of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies into local planning. The paper concludes with a discussion about potential applications of greenhouse gas inventory tools and valuable lessons learned, including limitations of the tools.