Aesthetics in Transportation

Book excerpt: This is a guide for transportation planners in creating attractive environments for people using transportation facilities and for those in the surrounding communities. The book which is based on 45 case studies and is illustrated by several photographs, begins with a formal discussion on art and then proceeds to facility design, potential impacts and improved procedures. A comprehensive section on sites and opportunities discusses topics such as cityscape, gateways, passageways, streets, plazas, and the renovation of older works. A number of procedures for managing arts programs are discussed. The section on highways provides design policy advice for planners on route selection, sign control, roadside development, and historic presentation. Other sections of the book discuss buses and streetcars and rapid transit. Aesthetic impacts involved in integrating transportation facilities with their surrounding communities are discussed. References are provided to funding sources and 141 publications.