Recognition for Chesapeake Bay focus, transit-oriented development, PlanMaryland.

The American Planning Association today named Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley as the recipient of its 2012 National Planning Leadership Award for his advocacy of environmental planning issues. The association, which represents the field of city and regional planning in the United States, made the announcement at its Washington, D.C. headquarters. The Planning Advocate award recognizes an individual who has advanced or promoted the cause of planning in the public arena.

"Governor O'Malley has been a powerful catalyst for smart growth from the day he took office," said Marie L. York, FAICP, an APA board director and 2012 awards jury co-chair. "He has worked tirelessly to bring a multi-faceted approach to planning - one that proves smart growth doesn't mean 'no growth' if done right." APA's national awards program was established a half-century ago to recognize outstanding community plans, planning programs and initiatives, public education efforts and individuals for leadership on planning issues.

"As a long-time member of the APA, I am delighted that the nation's preeminent planning organization has seen fit to recognize Governor O'Malley's efforts among the highest honors bestowed by the profession," said Maryland Planning Secretary Richard Eberhart Hall, AICP. "The governor is the first individual from Maryland to receive the award in more than a decade. Baltimore County's pioneering 1960s-Plan for the Valleys and Enterprise Community Partners Inc. of Columbia were honored in 2010."

The award will be presented at APA's national conference in Los Angeles on April 16, 2012. The association noted that Governor O'Malley adapted for planning some of the statistical tools he had used as mayor of Baltimore to combat crime and other problems. In 2007, the governor created a rigorous accounting program called BayStat for state agencies to ensure progress toward restoring the Chesapeake Bay. His departments of planning, natural resources and agriculture developed web-based tools called AgPrint, GreenPrint and GrowthPrint to better identify areas for growth and preservation. A proponent of Transit-Oriented Development, he has championed two light rail projects in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas. His administration also recently created Maryland's first statewide growth plan, PlanMaryland.