The purpose of this paper is to discuss emerging perspectives regarding transportation engineering that responds to societal needs in the 21st century and its influence on research, education and practice. Transportation engineers have had the primary responsibility for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the nation?s highways, airports, runways, railroad stations and track, bridges and waterways, drainage facilities, ports and harbors, and urban rail and bus systems. Traditionally, transportation engineering has focused on the design of guideway infrastructure, with little emphasis placed on integrating the vehicular component or its impact on its external environment. With a reduced emphasis on building new facilities, the emphasis in design will be placed on linkages between the vehicle and guideway through the use of information technology. Changes in the design profession will also be required. For example, the 20th century was a period of building new infrastructure to serve modes such as rail, motor vehicles, shipping and air. Accordingly, transportation engineering attracted professionals who were proficient in geometric, structural and pavement design. These skills will still be in demand, however, the new emphasis on vehicle-guideway interfaces, and a continued focus on the environment and smart-growth, suggests that transportation engineering is changing. Professionals will be in demand who are proficient in disciplines such as computer science, systems engineering, environmental science and design, and telecommunications. The transportation engineer will also be required to incorporate additional factors beyond those of efficiency, service life, safety, and cost-effectiveness. Engineering considerations will be expanded to include environmental quality, social issues and cultural concerns. A new ?domain expert? will be required who is a transportation engineer capable of assessing the contribution to a transportation problem that results from the application of proposed hardware/software solutions. To assure that relevant factors are incorporated into the design will require a new design process that is sensitive to its environmental context.