About the MPO

Put simply, the federal government wants transportation funds to be used based on plans made through teamwork, careful thinking, and agreement. This is important because:

  • Transportation money is limited, so it's important to spend it wisely.
  • Planning for transportation should match the community’s shared goals for the future.
  • Good planning means looking at different future scenarios and investment options

An MPO, or Metropolitan Planning Organization, helps local governments, interested groups, and residents work together to make transportation plans.

A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. They were created to ensure regional cooperation in transportation planning. MPOs were introduced by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962, which required the formation of an MPO for any Urbanized Area (UZA) with a population greater than 50,000.

Federal funding for transportation projects and programs are channeled through this planning process. Congress created MPOs to ensure that existing and future expenditures of governmental funds for transportation projects and programs are based on a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive ("3-C") planning process. Statewide and metropolitan transportation planning processes are governed by federal law (23 U.S.C.§§ 134–135). Transparency through public access to participation in the planning process and electronic publication of plans now is required by federal law.