Department of Transportation


New Jersey Future In Transportation

Mobility and Community Form

The Mobility and Community Form (MCF) program was developed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to assist communities in improving connections between the local transportation system and different patterns of land use. The "MCF Guide to Linking Transportation and Land Use in the Municipal Master Plan" provides municipalities with an overview of seven activity patterns that influence community form. The MCF is organized around the Transect planning tool which represents the different elements and scale of development patterns from the natural/rural to the urban environment. This helps them visualize suitable development patterns. The MCF applies an activity-based Transect to assist communities in identifying how the different development patterns influence walking, biking and other elements of healthy community design. The MCF Guide assists communities in reaching their vision for the future by outlining how to develop a MCF Element and utilize it in their master plan.

Prescriptions
There are seven patterns of mobility and community life identified as part of the MCF program:

  • Circulation
    The circulation pattern includes the use of "Complete Streets" to accommodate all users with interconnected streets and frequent intersections. Safety and sensitivity of the surrounding environment is also considered under this pattern.
  • Shopping Streets
    This pattern creates a sense of place by designing Main Streets with appropriate parking and pedestrian amenities.
  • Parking
    The parking pattern details the use of contextual design and scale for parking areas.
  • Transit Stops
    The transit stop pattern identifies features to improve the comfort, access and identity of transit stations within communities and discusses the need to support transit.
  • Neighborhoods
    The neighborhood activity pattern recommends a mix of land uses that include various housing types and provides details on street scale and pedestrian accommodations. It promotes locating schools close to existing neighborhoods and providing safe walking routes for children.
  • Public Places
    The public places pattern discusses grouping shared civic spaces to provide accessible and meaningful community places.
  • Natural Environment
    The natural environment pattern uses context sensitive design to create transportation facilities that are environmentally sensitive and respect the surrounding area. It also discusses the importance of providing public access to beaches, rivers and other natural features.
Activity-based Transect graphic
This Activity-based Transect shows
transitions from rural, suburban and urban land uses.


Last updated date: October 10, 2019 1:52 PM