About this tool
This tool was developed by the National Center for Smart Growth to support transit-oriented development and land use planning in Maryland. Use the filters and table to explore parcels by ownership and location. This map is intended to inform planning decisions and identify opportunities for sustainable growth around transit corridors. For comments and questions, please contact NCSG’s Associate Director, Nicholas Finio, Ph.D.
To learn more about this project, click here to read the accompanying blog post.
Project Team: Alexander McRobert, Cole Shultz, Wideleine Desir, Nicholas Finio
Contributer: Tayo Amos Taiwo
Interactive Map
Method for selecting Buildable Land
- Properties not determined to belong to either federal, state, county, or municipal governments were excluded, using listed owner names in the original dataset.
- Land use code descriptors were also used to further refine the ownership dataset.
- Properties with certain listed uses were excluded, such as airports, parks, and schools, as those are unlikely to be redeveloped for additional housing or converted from their existing uses.
- The full list of codes used for defining target parcels can be found in the data dictionary (linked above) and is based on the SDAT Exemption Class code.
Approach
This project originally began with an exploration of the State’s PropertyView System, which laid the groundwork for much of our subsequent analysis. This first step in this exploration was the creation of 1-mile buffers around the 111 different rail transit stations in Maryland, including 26 on the WMATA system, 38 on MARC, 14 on the Baltimore Metro, and 33 on the Baltimore Light Rail, using ArcGIS Pro. Within those buffer zones, properties were then identified and their owners classified to understand land distribution. Properties not determined to belong to either federal, state, county, or municipal governments were excluded at this stage, using listed owner names in the original dataset. Land use code descriptors were also used to further refine the ownership dataset.
Next, the presence of duplicate parcels and layers was handled by deleting parcels with shared IDs, and inconsistent ownership naming conventions, such as the 14 different listings of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, WMATA, were handled through the reclassify tool of ArcGIS Arcade.
We also excluded properties with certain listed uses, such as airports, parks, and schools, as those are unlikely to be redeveloped for additional housing or converted from their existing uses. Our full list of codes used for defining target parcels is based on the SDAT Exemption Class code.