In association with Metro Analytics, Chandler Duncan served as the principal investigator for NCHRP 1002: MPO Strategies for Future Success. The primary objective of the research was to help Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) succeed in the 21st century. Much has changed since the Federal-Aid Highway Act introduced the vision of a cooperative, comprehensive, and continuing multimodal planning process for urban areas in 1962, and while the 3-C planning process remains central to metropolitan planning, MPOs today grapple with an array of issues that were not on any planning horizon decades ago.

The NCHRP panel and research team conducted a comprehensive, critical review of MPO strengths and weaknesses in light of current and anticipated issues, then identified strategies and opportunities to position MPOs across the country for future success. The research produced a searchable Innovation Database of best practices, online video summaries of Information Forums featuring national experts across diverse topic areas, and a Toolkit for the 21st Century providing readily accessible guidance on twelve topics identified through the research, including social equity, financial constraints, inclusive engagement, resilience in planning, and planning for the unknown.