I MPROVING

Air Quality

Through Land Use Activities 

AQ 

A’s Transportation Air Quality Center 

p://www.epa.gov/otaq/traq

United StatesEnvironmental ProtectionAgency

EPA 420-F-00-047December 2000

Air and Radiation (6401)
monetary incentives for people to buy a house

near their workplace. The state will contribute$1,000 toward the closing costs of such a homepurchase to be matched by $1,000 from theemployer and $1,000 from the city. Anyone buying a home that is walk- or transit-accessible totheir workplace can apply for the grant, providedthat their employer has agreed to participate. Theprogram was listed in the 1998 conformity determination document of the Baltimore RegionMetropolitan Planning Organization.Orenco Station, Oregon. Orenco Station is a new pedestrian and transit oriented community in East Hillsboro, Oregon. It was namedthe 1999 “Masterplanned Community of theYear” by the National Association ofHomebuilders (NAHB). In 1998, it won theGovernor’s Livability Award and the Gold NuggetDesign Award. Orenco Station is being praisedas a successful example of the move to combine successful elements of traditional neighborhoods with modern technologies, to present afunctional and attractive alternative to sprawl. Inthe 1980s, when Pacific Realty Associates(PacTrust) acquired more than 200 acres of landnear the old company town of Orenco, about 10miles west of Portland, the property was zonedfor commercial use. In the early 1990s,Portland’s Westside light rail line brought masstransit service to the area, and zoning of the

property was changed from industrial to stationarea residential. This meant that Orenco Stationwould now be designated a town center, whichwould require the property to be developed ashigh-density mixed-use property. The result wasa master plan envisioning a transit and pedestrianoriented community, with a 7-acre town centerlinking the residential area with the light rail station to provide a traditional main street, withrestaurants, stores and professional offices, allwithin walking distance. Within the town centerare residential lofts and live/work townhomes.The townhomes, reminiscent of old brownstones,allow residents to have an office or studio on thefirst floor of their home. Around the town centerare single family cottage homes. These homesfeature traditional regional architecture. Garagesare set behind the homes on rear driveway lanes.There are many pocket parks scattered throughout the community, along with two large centralparks. The design of the community encouragesneighbors to get to know one another. Residentscan walk to get a quart of milk, a cup of coffee,or a nice meal. Orenco Station is attracting professional singles and couples, empty nesters andsmall families. The fact that these homes sell at20-25% higher than other homes in the area hasnot in any way hampered sales, according to thecompany. (Rosemary Leonetti, March 17, 2000,http://www.office.com, used by permission)
EXAMPLES OF LAND USE ACTIVITIES

◆ Transit-oriented development (TOD): encouraging transit travel by developing moderateto high–density housing, shopping, and employment centers along a regional transit system,

with pedestrian access.

◆ Infill development: encouraging pedestrian and transit travel by locating new development in 

already developed areas, so that activities are closer together.

◆ Brownfield development: remediation and redevelopment of under-utilized or abandoned lands,

usually in already developed areas, that have been contaminated during previous use.

◆ Mixed-use development: development that locates complementary land uses such as housing,

retail, office, services, and public facilities within walking distance of each other.

◆ Neotraditional design/pedestrian-oriented development: creating a set of land development 

and urban design elements with the purpose of creating pedestrian oriented neighborhoods.

◆ Developing concentrated activity centers: encouraging pedestrian and transit travel by creating

"nodes" of high density mixed development that can be more easily linked by a transit network.

◆ Strengthening downtowns: encouraging pedestrian and transit travel by making central business

districts concentrated activity centers which can be the focal point for a regional transit system.

◆ Jobs/housing balance: reducing the disparity between the number of residences and the number 

of employment opportunities available within a sub-region by directing employment developments to areas with housing, and vice versa.

These trends – more cars on the road, peopledriving more, and increased trip lengths – are insome areas decreasing the impacts of improvedemissions technology. To combat these trends,state and local government agencies seeking toreduce emissions from cars are increasingly looking not just at technological strategies, but atstrategies to reduce driving.As local government agencies plan and evaluatethe best growth and development strategies to meet their communities’ needs, the impacts of these strategies on air quality should also be

considered. There is evidence that some types of development patterns necessitate the use of a car, while other types can reduce reliance oncars and trucks for transportation. In some cases,such development patterns can mean shorter andfewer trips, thus reducing vehicular miles traveledby cars and trucks and improving air quality;other development patterns have the potential to improve or mitigate air quality problems byproviding and promoting alternatives to vehiculartravel, such as mass transit, walking or biking.
reduced emissions from transportation sources(such as cars, trucks and buses) will result. TheGuidance presents the conditions under whichthe benefits of land use activities could be

included in a SIP or a conformity determination, and provides guidelines for quantifyingthe emissions reductions and meeting EPAreporting criteria.

WHO WILL BENEFIT

From This Guidance?

State and local air quality agencies and metropolitan planning organizations responsible forquantifying air quality programs can use theGuidance, especially those located in maintenance and non-attainment areas. Of course,many other key stakeholders play a significantrole in successfully employing land use as a tool

for improving air quality. Therefore, the Guidancewill also be of interest to others, such as citizens, community organizations, state, regionaland local government agencies, private developers, financial institutions, and members ofacademia who want to improve air quality intheir communities.

COMMENTS RECEIVED

On The Guidance 

“EPA’s guidance on land use is timely given the current movement among communities to refocus landuse decisions to achieve livability and sustainability.” (California Department of Transportation, Office ofCommunity Planning)“(This document) will bring together two groups of practitioners that traditionally have not worked closely:local government land use planners and MPO modelers.” (Criterion Planners/Engineers - Eliot Allen, AICP)“I am pleased to observe that this guidance identifies the specific ways that air quality benefits of land usepolicies and projects could be accounted for in the air quality and transportation planning processes.I commend the technical merits of the methodologies described in the document and their applicability to accounting for the air quality impacts of infill developments in the air quality and transportation planning processes.” (Senator Richard L. Russman, Chairman, Senate Environment Committee, State ofNew Hampshire)