Founded in 1985, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has become a leading organization in the promotion of environmentally sustainable and equitable transportation policies and projects worldwide. ITDP was created by sustainable transport advocates in the U.S. to counteract the export to developing countries of costly and environmentally damaging models of dependence on the private automobile. In its first ten years, ITDP successfully advocated for the redirection of lending activity by the World Bank and other multi-lateral institutions away from an exclusive focus on road projects and toward more multi-modal transport solutions.

In more recent years, we have focused on working with municipalities and non-governmental organizations in developing countries to implement projects that demonstrate how transport emissions, collisions, and road fatalities can be reduced, or how the basic mobility of the poor can be improved. ITDP’s primary programs include the development of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, promoting the use of Transit-oriented Development (TOD), and planning facilities for bicycles and pedestrians. Further programs include traffic demand management (TDM), parking regulations, and the revitalization of city centers.