State & Federal Resources

Maryland

Smart Growth in Maryland
Site contains general and MD specific information and reference materials (some are available online, others must be ordered). Smart Growth neighborhoods has several goals that serve as development principles.

Smart Growth has three straightforward goals:

• To save our most valuable remaining natural resources before they are forever lost
• To support existing communities and neighborhoods by targeting state resources to support development in areas where the infrastructure is already in place or planned to support it
• To save taxpayers millions of dollars in the unnecessary cost of building the infrastructure required to support sprawl
• Provide Marylanders with a high quality of life, whether they choose to live in a rural community, suburb, small town, or city

Maryland Department of Planning - Sustainable Communities
The Sustainable Communities Act of 2010 provides the tools necessary to spur reinvestment in Maryland’s valuable existing communities. This law authorizes designation of targeted areas as Sustainable Communities and makes them eligible for the State’s smart growth programs. It transforms a popular and proven revitalization tax credit program to be the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit Program. Principles of Sustainable Communities:

• Provide more transportation choices. Develop safe, reliable, and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote public health.
• Promote equitable, affordable housing. Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
• Enhance economic competitiveness. Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers, as well as expanded business access to markets.
• Support existing communities. Target federal funding toward existing communities—through strategies like transit oriented, mixed-use development, and land recycling—to increase community revitalization and the efficiency of public works investments and safeguard rural landscapes.
• Coordinate and leverage policies and investment. Align policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding, and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
• Value communities and neighborhoods. Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe, and walkable neighborhoods—rural, urban, or suburban.

Federal

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Smart Growth Site
Information and links to other organizations. EPA is a participant and financial supporter of the Smart Growth Network. Sources of information include fact sheets, reports, and articles related to transportation, environment, etc available for download. Extensive report titled "Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality."

Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities-U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help families in all communities –- rural, suburban and urban – gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs, while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. The Partnership has identified six principles that will guide it:

• Provide more transportation choices: Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
• Promote equitable and affordable housing: Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
• Enhance economic competitiveness: Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
• Target resources to existing communities: Target federal funding toward existing communities – through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling – to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.
• Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investments: Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
• Value unique characteristics of communities, no matter their size: Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods – rural, urban or suburban.

Housing & Urban Development - Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities
The mission of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities is to create strong, sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and helping to build a clean energy economy. In order to better connect housing to jobs, the office will work to coordinate federal housing and transportation investments with local land use decisions in order to reduce transportation costs for families, improve housing affordability, save energy, and increase access to housing and employment opportunities.  By ensuring that housing is located near job centers and affordable, accessible transportation, they will nurture healthier, more inclusive communities – which provide opportunities for people of all ages, incomes, races, and ethnicities to live, work, and learn together. In order to foster and encourage local innovation, they will create an unprecedented partnership across federal agencies and provide resources and tools to help communities realize their own visions for building more livable, walkable, environmentally sustainable regions.

U.S. Dept. of Transportation-Federal Transit Authority – Livable and Sustainable Communities
U.S. DOT's Livability Initiative will enhance the economic and social well-being of all Americans by creating and maintaining a safe, reliable, integrated and accessible transportation network that enhances choices for transportation users, provides easy access to employment opportunities and other destinations, and promotes positive effects on the surrounding community. DOT will build on innovative ways of doing business that promote mobility and enhance the unique characteristics of our neighborhoods, communities and regions. DOT has already taken significant strides to improve livability through numerous programs.

U.S. Department of Agriculture - Sustainable Development
The mission of the Director of Sustainable Development is to advance the principles and goals of sustainable development through partnerships, collaboration, and outreach. The USDA Sustainable Development program focuses on three main areas: sustainable agriculture, sustainable forests, and sustainable communities.

United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. They created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification standard that provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education
The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education is a non-partisan center for research and leadership training on smart growth and related land use issues in Maryland, in metropolitan regions around the nation, and in Asia and Europe. The mission of the Center is to bring the diverse resources of the University of Maryland and a network of national experts to bear on issues related to land use and the environment, transportation and public health, housing and community development, and international urban development.