Call for Abstracts - 'Smart Growth @ 10'

National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, University of Maryland

In 1997, Maryland burst into the national spotlight with passage of its Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation initiative. The initiative gained broad national recognition and praise. Next year, 2007, marks the 10-year anniversary of Maryland's experiment with Smart Growth. Yet the question remains: Has Smart Growth in Maryland changed the development pattern in Maryland? If so, how and why? Which elements of the program appear to be working well – and which ones do not? In what fundamental ways does the Maryland program differ from the programs in other states? What lessons does the Maryland experience offer other states now considering similar reforms? What should be the next steps for Maryland as the Smart Growth initiative turns 10?

To address these and other related questions, the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland and Resources for the Future are organizing a three-day conference, tentatively scheduled between October 3-7, 2007, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Maryland's landmark Smart Growth legislation. Resources for the Future is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts research on environmental, energy and natural resource issues.

Papers specifically about the Maryland program are preferred but comparative papers or papers about similar programs in other states will be considered. The conference will be organized around six broad topics:
(1) Urban Growth Management (specifically, Maryland's Priority Funding Areas);
(2) Agriculture and Natural Resources (Ag. land preservation, Rural Legacy Program, and environmental protection; etc.);
(3) Housing and Community Development (affordable housing; jobs-housing balance, redevelopment; brownfields; tax policies; etc.);
(4) Transportation and Infrastructure (highways, transit, walking, bicycling, congestion; etc.);
(5) Intergovernmental Relations (state/local authority; regional cooperation);
(6) Maryland Program from a national perspective (comparisons with other states).

Details, deadlines, contacts and other information may be found at the University of Maryland website, www.smartgrowth.umd.edu, or at RFF's website, www.rff.org.