Two decades of smart growth in Maryland (U.S.A): impact assessment and future directions of a national leader

Abstract

In the context of land use planning, Maryland has attracted significant attention at the national scale for innovative planning efforts. In 1997, Maryland passed a package of legislation collectively referred to as ‘smart growth’. Distinct from earlier regulatory state level attempts to alter development patterns in states like Oregon and Florida, this approach relied on incentives to influence development patterns. This innovative ‘inside/outside’ approach to managing growth relies on targeting state funding to encourage growth and investment in existing urbanized areas and areas planned for development (Priority Funding Areas [PFAs]) while discouraging growth and encouraging the preservation of rural areas (Rural Legacy Areas). Transportation funding for new projects or increased capacity must be directed into PFAs, constituting 85% of total funding on average from 1999 to 2008. Though the statute restricts the expenditure of state funds for transportation outside areas targeted for development, the statutes offer little explicit guidance regarding integrating transportation and land use policies. This article proposes that Smart Growth efforts could be even stronger if land-use policies were integrated more closely with transportation policies. The Maryland Statewide Transportation Model is applied to test the impact of various Smart Growth policies and transportation policies. The paper concludes that Smart Growth could have a bigger impact if transportation policies played a larger role.

Document type: Article