IntroductionThe contemporary pattern of urban development in industrialized countries is increasingly taking the form of low-density, decentralized residential and commercial development. The term`sprawl' is now commonly used to describe this form of development, the environmental and quality-of-life impacts of which are becoming central to debates over land use and land cover in urban and suburban areas. The WashingtonB altimore region constitutes a central portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and is part of the`Chesapeake metropolis' (Grumet, 2000). Because the water quality and aquatic habitats of the Chesapeake Bay have been compromised, in part because of urbanization and low-density development, the Washington^Baltimore metropolitan region has become exemplary of the sprawl debate, exhibiting many of the classic symptoms, such as loss and fragmentation of the natural resource base, declining water quality, and traffic congestion (Burchell et al, 1998), as well as policy development and implementation aimed at growth management and natural resource protection.`Smart growth', a land-use policy orientation embodied by a suite of policies aimed at natural resource and agricultural preservation,
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