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Sprawl tales: Maryland's Smart Growth Initiative and the evolution of growth management

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Abstract

Over the last 25 years, momentum has grown for a policy response to issues raised by development and land use patterns at the urban-suburban-rural interface. Various states and municipalities throughout the country have experimented with legislative and planning approaches, often referred to as “growth management,” to address these land use issues. This paper examines one of the most recent steps in the evolution of growth management, the Smart Growth Initiative enacted by Maryland in April 1997. The paper addresses several questions: What is the Smart Growth Initiative and where does it fit in the evolution of growth management? What processes were used to incorporate diverse values and perspectives in developing the initiative? What are the prospects for its implementation? The paper briefly reviews growth management, its evolution over the last quarter century, and the use of stakeholder involvement and consensus-building processes for policy development. With this background, the Smart Growth Initiative is examined in detail, including the group processes employed to incorporate diverse values in both developing and implementing the initiative. Finally, the paper closes by placing the Smart Growth Initiative in the context of evolving growth management approaches.

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  1. 1712 Johnson Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C, 20009

    Richard Haeuber

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  1. Richard Haeuber
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Correspondence to Richard Haeuber.

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Haeuber, R. Sprawl tales: Maryland's Smart Growth Initiative and the evolution of growth management. Urban Ecosystems 3, 131–147 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009527930434

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