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Smart Mobility Framework

Overview

Smart Mobility 2010: A Call to Action for the New Decade, also known as The Smart Mobility Framework (PDF) (SMF) is a planning guide that furthers integration of smart growth concepts into transportation planning in California.

Smart Mobility moves people and freight while enhancing California’s economic, environmental and human resources by emphasizing:

  • Convenient and safe multimodal travel
  • Speed suitability
  • Accessibility
  • Management of the circulation network
  • Efficient use of land

Smart Mobility responds to the transportation needs of the State’s people and businesses, addresses climate change, advances social equity and environmental Justice, supports economic and community development, and reduces per capita vehicle miles traveled.

For a summary of the report, take a look the SMF Fact Sheet.

Smart Mobility Framework

The Smart Mobility Framework (PDF) (SMF), formally known as Smart Mobility 2010: A Call to Action for the New Decade, was prepared by Caltrans in partnership with the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor's Office of Planning & Research, and the California Department of Housing & Community Development to address both long-range challenges and short-term programmatic actions to implement multi-modal and sustainable transportation strategies in California.

The SMF is a planning framework that helps guide and assess how well plans, programs, and projects meet a definition of "smart mobility". It can be used by both Caltrans and partner agencies in all geographic parts of the State to transform transportation decisions.

Ideally, the SMF can be applied to various levels of plans, programs, or projects (e.g., Regional Transportation and Blueprint Plans, General Plans, corridor plans, specific development proposals, etc.) in all parts of the state (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural).

SMF Learning Network

Caltrans has launched a Learning Network to support implementation of the Smart Mobility Framework.

The objectives of the Learning Network are to:

  • Educate public agency staff about the Smart Mobility Framework and its application to transportation and land use planning activities
  • Develop and strengthen strategic partnerships between Caltrans and other agencies
  • Provide opportunities for discussion among participants in order to share challenges, opportunities, and successes, and to foster collaboration and partnerships
  • Identify ways that Caltrans Headquarters staff can further assist with implementation of the Smart Mobility Framework

Smart Mobility Implementation

Pilot Studies

Caltrans has developed and tested approaches for implementing Smart Mobility principles, concepts, and performance measures into practice through an SMF Implementation Pilot Study. This pilot study incorporated the SMF into a Corridor System Management Plan (CSMP) in District 4 and a Long Range Transportation Planning process in District 7.

The results of the pilot study include recommendations and next steps for incorporating the SMF into planning practice. The final report consolidates lessons learned, presents best practices, identifies performance measures, and describes a replicable process for incorporating Smart Mobility into comparable efforts throughout Caltrans and partner agencies' work. The study also contains a literature review as well as technical appendices that present the details of how the SMF was incorporated into each pilot area.

SMF Implementation Pilot Study Final Report (PDF)

Appendix A: Literature Review Memo (PDF)
Appendix B: I-680 CSMP (PA 1) Work Plan (PDF)
Appendix C: I-680 CSMP (PA 1) CSMP Place Types Analysis (PDF)
Appendix D: I-680 CSMP (PA 1) I-680 CSMP Performance Measures Memo (PDF)
Appendix E: I-680 CSMP Complete Streets Evaluation (PDF)
Appendix F: I-680 CSMP (PA 1) MMLOS Approach, Segment Selection, and Results Memos (PDF)
Appendix G: I-680 (PA 1) Final Report (PDF)
Appendix H: South Bay Cities (PA 2) Work Plan (PDF)
Appendix I: South Bay Cities (PA 2) Approach Memo (PDF)
Appendix J: South Bay Cities (PA 2) Analysis Results Memo (PDF)
Appendix K: South Bay Cities (PA 2) Final Report (PDF)

For a summary of the pilot study, take a look at the SMF Implementation Study Fact Sheet (PDF) .

The results from this initial pilot study are helping shape further implementation efforts. Further implementation of the SMF is currently underway. Stay tuned for more information and materials on SMF implementation as it is developed.

Preliminary Investigations

After the release of the Smart Mobility Framework, the Smart Mobility Branch commissioned preliminary investigations to gain more knowledge on sustainability tools, practices, and smart mobility research. The results of these preliminary investigations helped shape the scope of the SMF Implementation Pilot Study.
  • “Smart Mobility: A Survey of Current Practice and Related Research” (PDF) , Preliminary Investigation, Caltrans Division of Research & Innovation, April 25, 2012—This report examines completed and ongoing domestic and international research and investigates federal, state and regional activities to assess the current state of the practice of sustainability-oriented planning and performance measurement.