Land Use as an Air Quality Control Measure: Review of Current Practice and Examination of Policy Options

The inclusion of sustainable land use policies and programs for emissions credit in the air quality planning process is examined. Reviewed first is the role of land use in procedures for development of the state implementation plan (SIP) and the transportation conformity determination. Twenty-seven metropolitan areas were surveyed to identify how land use currently is incorporated into air quality plans. The survey found nine metropolitan areas that include a control measure involving land use in an air quality plan, though only two of these actually quantify an emission reduction from the measure. Then three general policy options are examined that could allow for better accounting of the air quality benefits of sustainable land use. One option is to enhance transportation and land use forecasting procedures so that they better capture land use and design features. A second option is to adopt land use policies as an explicit SIP control measure. A third option is to show an emissions reduction from land use as part of a transportation plan conformity determination. Existing rules are reviewed concerning each of these options, and how they would apply to land use measures is discussed.