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How do current development patterns impact Environmental Quality?

EPA’s Development, Community and Environment Division: T ools for Evaluating Smart Growth and Climate Change February 28, 2002 Ilana Preuss. How do current development patterns impact Environmental Quality? .

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How do current development patterns impact Environmental Quality?

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  1. EPA’s Development, Community and Environment Division: Tools for Evaluating Smart Growth and Climate Change February 28, 2002Ilana Preuss

  2. How do current development patterns impact Environmental Quality? • Urbanized land area in the US quadrupled since 1954 - from 1950 to 1990, large metro land areas increased twice as fast as their populations • From 1980 to 1997, VMT grew by 63%, almost 3 times the rate of population growth • Average length of work trips rose by 36% from ‘83-‘95 • In 1997, the transportation sector emitted 32% of the US CO2 emissions from fossil fuels • Projected to grow by 47.5% from 1996-2020

  3. How can Smart Growth address Environmental Impacts? • Current development patterns have large impacts on the environment, including climate change and water. • Smart Growth promotes choices & alternatives: • variety of transportation options and housing opportunities • mixed land uses • preserves open space & directs development to existing communities

  4. Activities of EPA’s Development, Community and Environment Division • Information-sharing through the Smart Growth Network • EPA created 3 years ago • national, regional and local partners and members encourage environmentally, fiscally, and socially smart metropolitan development • Exploring innovative policy opportunities • Tool Development • Smart Growth INDEX model (SGI) • Water model

  5. Smart Growth INDEX (SGI) Overview • Community Sketch Planning Analytic Tool • Compare impacts and outcomes from alternative development scenarios • Enhances local decision-making capacity for: • Cleaner air and water • Reduction of CO2 emissions • Protection of wetlands • Restoration of brownfields • Protection of open space • Better transportation planning

  6. SGI: A Sketch Planning Tool • Can be applied in any community or region with a GIS • Generates outputs useful to both technical and non-technical users • Operates in two different modes: • Projects environmental impacts from future growth patterns (forecast mode) • Calculates environmental impacts at a moment in time (snapshot mode) • Simultaneously addresses changes in vehicle travel with changes in land use patterns

  7. SGI’s value to states and communities • Models and displays impacts that may not otherwise be highlighted in traditional models • Promotes the principles of Smart Growth • Provides more sophisticated tool to communities without access or resources to run more advanced models • Variety of uses: master plans, transit station plans, environmental reviews, brownfields v. greenfield comparisons, air quality and climate impacts • A valuable tool for public involvement • clear visualization of trade-offs

  8. Inputs: SGI Data Requirements • Land use plan • Housing data (single or multifamily) • Employment data (service, retail or other) • Existing and future street centerlines • Transit routes • Population and Employment Growth projects (in forecast mode)

  9. Population density (residents/sq. mi) Land use mix Housing transit proximity Employment transit proximity Vehicle miles traveled/day/capita Air pollution (lbs/yr/capita from criteria pollutants) Climate Change (CO2/tons/yr/capita) Energy consumption Park space availability/access Outputs: Sample SGI Indicators

  10. SGI Output Display Source: MD Office of Planning

  11. SGI Models Development Alternatives Source: San Antonio, TX

  12. SGI Pilot Communities • OPEI selected 20 communities with: • the ability to create environmental benefits through smart growth approaches • adequate technical, data, and staffing requirements to run the model • In addition to local governments, EPA continues to work with NJ, MD and MN • Wrapped up Phase I as of January 31, 2002

  13. Sites: DE - Wilmington • Examined brownfield redevelopment scenarios in Wilmington, DE • Targeting development alternatives on particular sites: • high density residential • intense commercial • industrial development

  14. Sites: MD - Digital Harbor • Study area at Fells Point in Baltimore, MD • Generation of new jobs and housing • Examined air quality impacts • Reduction in VMT, emissions and green- house gases

  15. Sites: MA - Metropolitan Area Planning Council • Hudson, MA pilot project to examine the impact of 2 development proposals • Intel jobs • Condo units • Examines the proximity of residential development to available transit

  16. Sites: TX - San Antonio • Evaluation of City Plng Dept’s land use alternative and community alternative in relation to environmental impacts • Found a 6 percent decrease in GHG emissions

  17. Next Steps • Reporting on Phase I results • Beginning Phase II of pilot projects and site selection • Interested in working with states to partner application of SGI in communities and regions • Continually improving air quality analysis while adding water quality indicators

  18. For more Information: • Development, Community and Environment Division (DCED) • preuss.ilana@epa.gov • sprague.eric@epa.gov • For information on SGI: • www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/sg_index.htm • www.crit.com

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