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Metropolitan Planning Area Boundary defines the geographic scope used for long-range transportation planning and forecasting. This boundary sets the area within which the MPO develops its long-range plans, builds travel-demand models, and analyzes future transportation needs and land-use interactions over the planning horizon (typically about 20 years). Defining this boundary ensures that projections, funding assumptions, and air-quality analyses are consistent across the entire planning process and reflect where growth is expected to occur.

Transportation Management Areas are designations for large urbanized areas with a high population that influence planning priorities, but they are not the boundary used for long-range forecasting. An Interchange Area refers to the vicinity of a specific highway interchange, not the broader planning scope. Planning for Operations describes a focus on improving system performance through operational strategies, not a boundary for long-range planning.