Abstract: In today's urban society, the need for motorized transportation is a fact of life. In the United States, this issue is especially prominent because land-use patterns and the American obsession with the automobile have led to extreme reliance on the personal automobile. This situation has been exacerbated by federal transportation policies that have favored automobile transport. Even when fixed-route bus or rail service is available, millions of Americans are unable to utilize such services due to age, physical or mental disability, or income status. In response to the actions of affected populations, efforts have been made at the federal level to ensure that citizens have a voice in transportation policy through citizen participation activities. Mounting environmental awareness in the 1960s, coupled with growing citizen concerns over changes being made to their communities without the consideration of their views, prompted the federal government to mandate public participation efforts in transportation planning (Weiner 1992:81). The most common approach to be used in the field of transportation has been the largely ineffective public hearing. However, a new era of public involvement in transportation planning may well be on the horizon with the passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991. ISTEA requires state DOTs and local MPOs to work proactively to include all interested parties throughout all stages of the transportation planning and project development process. ISTEA encourages the use of innovative public involvement techniques designed specifically to create effective partnerships between planners and citizens. Within this context of proactive transportation planning, applied anthropologists have many opportunities to assist in the development of plans and the implementation of projects that are truly participatory in nature. This thesis explores the issue of public involvement in transportation planning by providing an example of a needs assessment I undertook in a retirement community located outside of the Tampa metropolitan area. A community-based needs assessment was conducted to provide the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) and the community of Greater Sun City Center with information regarding the perceived public transportation needs that exist in this retirement community. The community-based needs assessment for additional public transportation in Greater Sun City Center that I participated in as an applied anthropology researcher provided a window of opportunity that led to the issue of South County community circulators moving from a low-priority wish list to eventual implementation. The anthropological perspective that I brought to the research helped to build and consolidate relationships among representatives from the community and transportation officials in Hillsborough County. However, it was the efforts and initiative of these persons, rather than my research, that made the South County Community Circulator Pilot Project a reality, thus providing a good example of how communities may become empowered through meaningful public involvement.