The objectives of this project were to assist NCHRP Project Panel A2-17 and the NCHRP staff in organizing, conducting, and documenting a workshop on research needs in transportation and economic development. The purpose of the workshop was to critique the current thinking in this area, to identify the most critical gaps in knowledge, and to develop a research agenda to facilitate the bridging of these gaps.

The workshop was held March 25--28, 1990, in New Orleans, LA. Four groups, (1) Freight/Services/Commodities Transport, (2) Metropolitan and Intercity Travel, (3) Travel and Tourism, and (4) Intermodal Transport, met in a series of plenary and breakout sessions. A total of 23 research problem statements were developed and prioritized.

Following the workshop the Project Panel met in Washington, DC, on May 14--15, 1990, to review the workshop results and develop recommendations to AASHTO/SCOR for funding for FY '92. The panel reviewed a total of 23 problem statements emanating from the workshop. A number of them contained overlap and were combined and refined into 15 statements, titled as follows:

• State and National Macroeconomic Linkages Between Transportation Investments and Economic Performance
• Measuring the Impact of Changes in Freight Transportation Servicesand Infrastructure on Industry Productivity
• Evaluation of the Impact of Congestion on Economic Activity
• Evaluation of the Relationship Between Transportation Costs and Land Use Densities in Urban Areas---(Phase I, Taxonomy & Synthesis; Phase II, Case Studies & Decision Rules)
• The Economic Impact of a Rapidly Changing International Transportation Economy and Geopolitical Marketplace on Travel and Tourism
• Impacts of New Technologies on Intercity Travel and Tourism
• Economic Impacts of Size-Weight, Labor, and Environmental Regulations
• Impact of Transportation on Business Location Decisions
• Implications of Travel and Tourism Needs For Transportation System Design and Information Requirements
• Equipment Standardization Issues and Intermodal Productivity
• Development of Governmental Decision-Making Tools that Consider the Relationship of Industry to Transportation
• Revising Organization and Institutional Processes to Incorporate Revenue Development and Growth Objectives
• Travel Behavior, Its Determinants and Impacts on Travel and Tourism
• Identification of Alternative Policy Concepts and Strategies for Enhancing Economic Development and Productivity and Tourism
• Analysis Methods for Tourism and Travel Strategies to Enhance Economic Development

A report on the proceedings of the New Orleans workshop, covering agenda, participants, drafts of the 23 research problem statements and copies of the resource papers for each of the four breakout groups, is available from NCHRP.