The National Center for Smart Growth is frequently engaged with partners on projects of significant value to planners and elected officials in state or local government. The links below provide additional information about current projects. Our Past Projects page provides links information about projects as well.
Maryland Commuter Survey (2024)
The Maryland Commuter Survey (MCS) is an ongoing project conducted by the Transportation Policy Research Group at the University of Maryland in partnership with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). It provides an annual snapshot of commuting patterns, as well as longitudinal trends as the survey is conducted year-over-year. The 2024 MCS, the survey’s third iteration in its current form, shows how workers across the state have adjusted their work and commuting patterns as the state continues to emerge from the pandemic. This and future versions of the survey will track how workers commute amidst developing economic opportunities and challenges, and preferences about where they live and work. While the MCS focuses on commuting, it also captures other aspects of how workers live, work, and travel, shedding light on how commuting patterns relate to Marylanders’ broader lives. Learn more.
InPlace: Covid & Commuting
NCSG performed a study, the aim of which was to examine the impacts of pre- and post-COVID commuting patterns on the spatial relationships between people and place. The project was developed in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Transportation and selected local authorities. Learn more.
Purple Line FTA MTA TOD Planning Grant
In December 2018 the Maryland Transit Administration was awarded a $2 million dollar grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The grant is a “TOD Planning Grant,” which funds collaborative planning work between local government agencies to plan for transit-oriented-development in the Purple Line Corridor. The National Center for Smart Growth was a key partner in applying for the grant. Learn more...
Direct Ridership Model
The NCSG has developed multiple direct ridership models for a number of major transportation and transit agencies in the U.S., including the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), and Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), and WMATA. Some results have been incorporated into the transit agencies' pipeline planning process, future revenue projections, and rail service planning. Learn more...
Neighborhood Opportunity
Over the past few years, NCSG has been actively engaged in projects related to issues of neighborhood opportunity. That is, the ways in which neighborhoods help to shape the access that individuals and communities have to various kinds of educational, employment, health or other opportunities that can improve their long-term prospects. Learn more...
Prospects for Regional Sustainability Tomorrow
The multi-year goal for the Prospects for Regional Sustainability Tomorrow (PRESTO) project is to develop, disseminate, and promote the implementation of a sustainable development strategy for the Baltimore-Washington region. Well known examples of similar efforts include privately financed and promoted plans such as the Burnham plan for Chicago, the Wallace-McHarg plan for the Valleys, and the series of plans for greater metropolitan New York prepared by the Regional Planning Association. Learn more...
Sustainable Communities Initiative
Smart Cities
"smart city": an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets and resources efficiently (Wikipedia)
Smart cities technologies are being applied in many fields -- public health, architecture, transportation, civic infrastructure, energy, environment, public policy, education, and more. Free public Wi-Fi, the Internet of things, autonomous vehicles, web-based curricula, personal health monitors and smart transit hubs have the potential to radically change how goods and services are organized and delivered. Learn more...