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Tools for Evaluating Smart Growth and Climate Change: An EPA Overview

The EPA’s Development, Community, and Environment Division presents tools to address the environmental impacts of current development patterns through Smart Growth principles. Urban land area and vehicle miles traveled have seen significant growth, leading to increased CO2 emissions and environmental degradation. Smart Growth promotes sustainable community planning through diverse transportation options, mixed land use, and preservation of open spaces. Tools like the Smart Growth INDEX model enhance local decision-making by comparing development scenarios, improving air/water quality, and reducing greenhouse gases.

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Tools for Evaluating Smart Growth and Climate Change: An EPA Overview

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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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