ABSTRACT
Sprawling patterns of dispersed residential and commercial development are seen as wasteful of land, expensive to service, automobile-dependent, environmentally harmful, and, ultimately, community-defeating. The state of Maryland has enacted a package of "Smart Growth" programs to promote more compact development by targeting public infrastructure and providing financial incentives in designated growth areas. It is hoped that this strategy will result in less sprawl, higher density development, greater use of mass transit, a pedestrian orientation, more closely-knit communities, and a higher quality of life. But smart growth will succeed only if people in designated growth and redevelopment areas are able to improve the economic, social, and physical aspects of their communities. Smart growth must build the capacity of community residents to undertake land use planning and solve community problems. Otherwise, additional policies will be needed to link smart growth and community development.
