Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) polygon feature class delineates the boundaries of Idaho’s six federally designated MPOs. These organizations are responsible for transportation planning in urbanized regions and play a key role in allocating federal funding and coordinating infrastructure projects. This dataset provides a spatial framework for regional planning and is used by state and local agencies to support long-range transportation strategies, public engagement, and intergovernmental collaboration. An MPO is a transportation policy-making and planning body with representatives of local, state, and federal government and transportation authorities. MPOs ensure that transportation planning in urban areas is developed cooperatively and guided by local and public input. MPOs work to balance the planning needs of local communities with the need for statewide connectivity, putting some of the planning process back in the hands of the locals. MPOs receive funding through federal, state, and local sources for their operation. Federal transportation funds are channeled through state departments of transportation to the MPOs, but state and local government entities may also support MPO planning activities with matching grants, employee salaries and benefits, contract oversight, information technology services, and more. This content item is a sub-layer of the Planning Boundaries authoritative feature layer. Metadata