Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Professional services
UnclaimedA nonprofit organization that advances sustainable, equitable, and low-carbon urban transportation worldwide.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is an American nongovernmental nonprofit organization focused on making urban transportation more sustainable, equitable, efficient, and accessible. Its work centers on public transit, especially bus rapid transit (BRT), together with walking, cycling, non-motorized transport, parking reform, transport demand management, transit-oriented development, and international climate and transport policy. ITDP combines technical assistance to governments with research, advocacy, standards, planning guidance, and public communication. Founded in 1985 by Michael Replogle and other sustainable-transport advocates, the organization emerged in opposition to car-oriented development models that it regarded as expensive, environmentally damaging, and inequitable. Its early work emphasized bicycles and local bicycle industries in countries including Haiti, Nicaragua, Mozambique, South Africa, and other parts of West Africa. Through the Bikes Not Bombs campaign, ITDP helped send used bicycles to Nicaragua for health and education programs and supported the development of local bicycle assembly capacity. It also advocated for transport lending by the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to include public, non-motorized, and multimodal transportation rather than concentrating primarily on road construction. ITDP later expanded into urban transit planning and policy reform. It has provided design or advisory support for BRT systems and related programs in cities including Ahmedabad, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Yichang, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. Its BRT Standard defines core characteristics of high-quality BRT and provides a rating framework using gold, silver, and bronze classifications. The organization has also published planning guides for BRT, bike sharing, and transit-oriented development, seeking to make practical knowledge available to cities in both developing and developed countries. The organization’s urban-development work links transportation with land use, public space, economic opportunity, and public health. Projects have included pedestrian and cycling networks, bike-share planning, car-free initiatives, improved cycle rickshaws, historic-center revitalization, parking management, and transit-oriented development. In Mexico City, ITDP supported efforts to revitalize the Historic Center through pedestrian improvements, transit integration, parking and street-vending management, maintenance, and public-security measures. It also contributed to bicycle planning intended to connect the area with a broader cycling network. At the international policy level, ITDP has advocated for transport investments that reduce car dependence and greenhouse-gas emissions. It co-founded the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport in 2009 and participated in efforts to place sustainable transport in multilateral development and United Nations policy discussions. The organization has published scenario research with the University of California, Davis, examining the potential effects of shifting investment toward public transportation, walking, and cycling. ITDP also publishes the Sustainable Transport magazine and participates on the committee for the annual Sustainable Transport Award. The organization maintains offices in several countries and works with public agencies, development institutions, civil-society groups, and local technical partners.
History
ITDP was established in the United States in 1985 by Michael Replogle and fellow advocates who sought to counter the spread of urban planning centered on private automobiles. The organization’s founding perspective treated transportation as both an environmental and social-equity issue: road-dominated growth could impose high public costs, increase pollution, consume urban space, and leave people without cars with fewer opportunities. ITDP therefore promoted bicycling, walking, public transportation, and planning methods that gave greater weight to non-motorized users. During its first decade, ITDP concentrated substantially on bicycles and local production. It supported bicycle industries and bicycle-based development initiatives in Haiti, Nicaragua, Mozambique, South Africa, and West Africa. Its Bikes Not Bombs campaign sent second-hand bicycles to Nicaragua for health and education purposes; by 1989, the program had shipped 10,000 bicycles and helped establish bicycle assembly activity in the country. The organization also sought to influence international development finance. It pressed the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to consider multimodal transportation and alternatives to road-only projects. In the early 1990s, ITDP helped create the Transport Sector Task Force, an advisory body connected to the United States Treasury Department’s multilateral development-bank liaison office. The task force reviewed transport projects and development-finance priorities. ITDP’s 1994 study, Counting on Cars, Counting Out People, argued that transport appraisal methods should account for the economic effects experienced by people who walk, cycle, or use other non-motorized modes. The organization stated that this approach was subsequently reflected in World Bank practice. ITDP also advocated for sustainable transport in United States policy debates and was associated with efforts surrounding the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. From the 1990s onward, ITDP developed a larger international practice in public transportation and urban design. It became particularly associated with bus rapid transit. The organization worked with governments and local partners on BRT planning, design, operations, and evaluation in cities across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere. It published the Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide in 2007 with international partners, drawing on experience from Latin American transit planners. ITDP later developed the BRT Standard, which established a common framework for distinguishing high-quality BRT from ordinary bus service and assessed corridors through gold, silver, and bronze ratings. ITDP’s active-transportation work expanded beyond bicycle supply and advocacy into city-scale infrastructure and policy. It has advised on bicycle lanes, pedestrian networks, bike-share programs, car-free initiatives, safe-street design, and improved cycle rickshaws. In 2013, it published the Bike-Share Planning Guide to make lessons from different national and city contexts more transferable. It also assisted with projects such as a pilot bicycle path and feeder-network planning in São Paulo and pedestrianization and traffic-impact work in Yogyakarta. The organization has treated land use and transportation as interconnected. Its 2013 TOD Standard identified eight principles for transit-oriented development and promoted compact, connected, walkable, and transit-oriented urban form. In Mexico City, ITDP provided technical support for the revitalization of the Historic Center, including pedestrian improvements, parking and street-vending management, street maintenance, public-security coordination, and links to bicycle planning. The intended results included improved public space, better air quality, stronger tourism and investment prospects, and a reversal of long-term deterioration. ITDP also became active in global climate and development policy. It co-founded the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport in 2009 and worked through that network on development-bank financing, the United Nations post-2015 agenda, and international climate discussions. With the University of California, Davis, it published a global high-shift scenario in 2014 examining the effects of greater investment in public transit, walking, and cycling and lower reliance on cars. Its broader program combines direct city assistance with research, standards, publications, advocacy, and participation in the Sustainable Transport Award. The organization has offices in seven countries and relationships or projects in more than 100 cities. Walter B. Hook served as executive director from 1993 through 2014, while Enrique Peñalosa became board president in 2009 and Heather Thompson has been identified as interim chief executive officer.
- 2014
Walter B. Hook’s executive-director tenure ends
[1]Hook’s documented period as executive director concludes after more than two decades.
- 2013
Bike-Share Planning Guide and TOD Standard released
[1]ITDP publishes guidance for bike-share systems and a framework for transit-oriented development.
- 2009
Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport co-founded
[1]ITDP joins in establishing the SLoCaT partnership to advance low-carbon transport policy.
- 2007
Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide published
[1]ITDP and partner organizations release an international guide to BRT planning and design.
- 1994
Counting on Cars, Counting Out People published
[1]The report proposes that transport appraisal include impacts on non-motorized road users.
- 1991
Sustainable transport enters United States policy advocacy
[1]ITDP advocates for sustainable and multimodal transportation in the policy environment surrounding the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act.
- 1989
Bikes Not Bombs reaches 10,000 bicycles shipped
[1]The campaign supports health and education programs in Nicaragua and contributes to local bicycle assembly.
- 1985
Organization founded
[1]Michael Replogle and other sustainable-transport advocates establish ITDP in the United States.
Products and positioning
An international nonprofit technical and policy organization promoting people-centered urban mobility, with particular expertise in bus rapid transit, active transportation, transit-oriented development, and low-carbon transport policy.
Standard and evaluation framework
BRT Standard
A design and rating framework for bus rapid transit systems. It defines essential BRT characteristics, identifies preferred planning and operational practices, and evaluates corridors through gold, silver, and bronze classifications. The framework is intended to distinguish genuinely high-quality BRT from conventional bus services marketed with the BRT label.
Planning guide · 2007
Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide
An international planning resource produced with United Nations Environment Programme and other partners. It draws on the experience of transit planners, particularly in Latin America, and explains how cities can plan and implement efficient, accessible, and high-capacity bus rapid transit systems.
Planning guide · 2013
Bike-Share Planning Guide
A guide intended to help cities plan and implement bike-share systems across different geographic, economic, demographic, and urban-density contexts. It synthesizes experience from developing and developed countries and addresses the practical planning considerations needed for a functioning public bicycle system.
Urban-development framework · 2013
The TOD Standard
A framework for transit-oriented development that sets out eight principles for creating compact, connected, walkable, and transit-supportive urban areas. It links transport planning with land use, public space, access to opportunity, and reduced dependence on private cars.
Publication
Sustainable Transport
ITDP’s annual magazine covering sustainable transportation practice, policy, urban design, and related projects. It serves as a public communication channel for the organization’s research and field experience.
Marketing campaigns
- 2009Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport
International
ITDP co-founded the SLoCaT partnership to coordinate advocacy for low-carbon transportation in development, climate, and international policy processes.
Outcome. The partnership contributed to sustainable-transport financing advocacy and to the inclusion of transport in international development and climate discussions.
- 1985Bikes Not Bombs
Nicaragua · Haiti · Mozambique · South Africa · West Africa
A bicycle-centered development campaign that supported health, education, and local bicycle production by sending used bicycles and encouraging bicycle-sector capacity in partner countries.
Outcome. By 1989, 10,000 second-hand bicycles had been shipped to Nicaragua, where the effort also helped establish bicycle assembly activity.
- Sustainable Transport Award
International
ITDP participates on the committee for the annual Sustainable Transport Award, which recognizes urban transportation initiatives and policy achievements.
Brand decisions
2013
Introduce The TOD StandardProduct launchBackground
ITDP sought to connect transport infrastructure decisions with compact, walkable, mixed, and transit-supportive urban development.
Action taken
It published a framework organized around eight principles for transit-oriented development.
Aftermath
The framework broadened ITDP’s public-facing toolkit beyond transit operations into land-use and urban-form guidance.
2013
Publish the Bike-Share Planning GuideProduct launchBackground
Cities in different economic and geographic settings were adopting public bicycle systems but had uneven access to planning knowledge.
Action taken
ITDP released a guide designed to transfer bike-share lessons between developing and developed urban contexts.
Aftermath
The publication supported ITDP’s work on cycling, active transportation, and multimodal mobility.
2007
Launch the Bus Rapid Transit Planning GuideProduct launchBackground
Cities worldwide were seeking practical methods for planning higher-quality bus systems and applying lessons from established BRT programs.
Action taken
ITDP worked with international partners to publish and distribute a multilingual BRT planning guide.
Aftermath
The guide became part of ITDP’s international knowledge and technical-assistance work in public transportation.
1994
Advocate for people-centered transport appraisalStrategyBackground
ITDP argued that conventional transport-economic appraisal was biased toward motorway construction and insufficiently considered people walking, cycling, or using other non-motorized modes.
Action taken
It published Counting on Cars, Counting Out People and promoted the inclusion of non-motorized users’ economic impacts in project evaluation.
Aftermath
The organization reported that the core recommendation was incorporated into World Bank transport-appraisal practice.
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