The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education



The Environmental Finance Center is:

Innovative
Our mission at the Environmental Finance Center is to provide communities with the tools and information needed to manage change for a cleaner environment and an enhanced quality of life. In our efforts to encourage communities to make informed choices related to the protection of the environment, especially watersheds, we work to promote an atmosphere of respectful, innovative, and creative communication.

Community Based
Our goal at the Environmental Finance Center is to develop livable communities within the Chesapeake Bay region that promote, clean, safe neighborhoods and foster a sense of place for all citizens. We believe that a healthy, natural environment is essential for sustainable economic development, and that planning and land use decisions must account for the needs of watersheds and related natural systems. In addition, we believe that community development is a local function requiring efficient and proactive local management.

A Leader
The Environmental Finance Center strives to be a leader in community development and watershed protection by strengthening the capacity of local decision-makers to analyze environmental problems and develop innovative and effective ways of financing environmental efforts. Our primary function is to educate communities on the role of finance and economic development in the protection of the environment and watersheds. The EFC believes that environmental finance is a tool for developing a shared community vision of respect and the development of the greater good.

Effective
Our success and effectiveness will result in the development of open and effective policy arenas that encourage and foster respectful debate. Our vision is one of clean, healthy watershed communities that promote the well being of all living organisms.

Our Staff

Our Host

The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education (NCSG) was established in 2000 as a direct result of the rapidly expanding national and international interest in improving land use management through efforts collectively known by the term "Smart Growth." The Center is a cooperative venture of four schools on the University of Maryland's College park campus that include the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the School of Public Affairs, College of Engineering and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The concept of the Center was based on the need to develop an objective, interdisciplinary approach to better understand the complex Smart Growth strategies sweeping the nation. The goals of NCSG are to fill critical gaps in the research and available data on the effects of "Smart Growth," including the effectiveness of state and local growth management initiatives. The other goal is to fill an equally critical gap in available education and training for decision makers who need new ideas and tools for adopting cross-disciplinary and integrated approaches to managing growth, planning their land use, problem solving and implementation.

The mission of NCSG is to help the University of Maryland become nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in Smart Growth research and education. NCSG does this by bringing diverse resources of the University of Maryland, and a network of national experts, to bear on issues of land development, resource preservation and urban growth through interdisciplinary research, outreach and education. This approach recognizes that work on these interwoven issues directly affects the nature of our communities, our landscape and environment and, ultimately, our quality of life.

National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education
University of Maryland
Preinkert Field House, Suite 1112
College Park, Maryland 20742
Tel: (301) 405-6788
Fax: (301) 314-5693
www.smartgrowth.umd.edu

Our Partners

SMART GROWTH NETWORK

The Environmental Finance Center Network is part of the Smart Growth Network www.smartgrowth.org/sgn/partdes.asp?partid=56.

CLUE NETWORK

The Environmental Finance Center's Joanne Throwe participates in the Collaborative for Land Use Education (CLUE) Network http://faculty.arec.umd.edu/clue/.


EPA Logo

U.S. EPA Environmental Finance Program

Environmental initiatives and programs cannot be implemented without effective financing, yet knowledge about how to fund programs is often limited, especially at the local level. The EPA created the Environmental Finance Network in response to this local level need for financing expertise. Consisting of nine regional Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) in eight regions, the Network provides local officials with technical assistance on issues such as rate setting, land use planning, and sustainable development, among others. Integral to the success of the Network is the ability of its individual centers to work collaboratively on national issues that are implemented at the local level. As a result, the Network applies myriad tools and services to national, regional, and local environmental projects, with programs tailored to each case.

Visit www.epa.gov/efinpage for more information on the Environmental Finance Program and the Environmental Finance Network.

Environmental Finance Centers



Environmental Finance Center
1104 Preinkert Field House, College Park, MD 20742
phone: (301) 405-5036 | fax: (301) 314-5639 | email: efc@umd.edu