What is JATSO?

Urbanized areas with a population of over 50,000 as determined by the U.S. census are required to create Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). An MPO is a policy board that is tasked with transportation planning for the urbanized area. MPOs receive an annual allocation from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to carry out the metropolitan transportation planning process. The Joplin Area Transportation Study Organization (JATSO) is the MPO for the Joplin urbanized area.