Frequently Asked Questions



Q:What is Reality Check Plus?
A:Reality Check Plus is a series of growth visioning exercises that are now being planned to be held in four different regions in Maryland in summer 2006. Organizers intend to invite business, civic and elected leaders from throughout Maryland to participate in Reality Check exercises. Participants will be asked to decide where the thousands of new residents and jobs that are expected to come to Maryland over the next 25 years should be located.
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Q:Is Reality Check a government program?
A:No. This is a voluntary, non-governmental effort that is being led by a coalition of business and civic leaders and academic institutions.
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Q:Will Reality Check Plus cover the entire state of Maryland?
A:Yes, that is one of its unique features. This represents one of the nation's first efforts to develop a statewide vision for growth. This will be accomplished by holding separate regional Reality Check events in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, the Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland and Western Maryland. The results from these four events will then be compiled into a statewide vision that will be contrasted with current trends and then presented in a statewide forum.
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Q:When and where will these regional events be held?
A:Eastern Shore regional exercise:  Thursday, May 25 at the Hyatt in Cambridge
Western MD regional exercise:  Friday, June 2 at Hagerstown Community College
Central MD regional exercise:  Friday, June 9 at the Baltimore Convention Center
Southern MD regional exercise:  Thursday, June 15 at St. Mary’s College
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Q:What is the goal of this effort?
A:The initial goals are really two-fold: First, it is to raise awareness among the public and elected officials about the speed and magnitude of the population and job growth coming to the state over the next several decades; and, second, to encourage citizens and elected officials to begin thinking about ways to address growth issues on a regional or even statewide basis.
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Q:Do you expect Reality Check Plus to actually change anything?
A:Yes, that is certainly the intention. In fact, the word "Plus" is intended to convey the goal of going beyond these regional visioning exercises to develop a specific implementation plan that will turn the statewide vision into reality in Maryland. Reality Check Plus is designed to accomplish four tasks:

  • Develop a collective vision for growth, development and conservation in the state;
  • Identify differences between that vision and current trends;
  • Identify the policy, funding or other changes that will be needed to change those trends; and,
  • Work to implement those changes.

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Q:Who is sponsoring Reality Check Plus?
A:Three organizations are the primary sponsors of Reality Check Plus: (1) The Baltimore District Council of the Urban Land Institute, an association of land development firms; (2) 1000 Friends of Maryland, a citizen coalition that advocates for "smart growth" solutions to development in Maryland; and (3) the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, a land use research center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
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Q:Is anyone else involved in this effort?
A:Yes, over 100 different organizations are providing financial resources or are helping to shape and conduct the Reality Check exercises.  Two major financial supporters are the Home Builders Association of Maryland and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy.  For a complete list of those involved, visit our Hosts and Sponsors page.
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Q:Why are these groups doing this?
A:Maryland is already the fifth most densely populated state in the nation and is rapidly becoming more crowded. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that Maryland's population will grow from approximately 5.5 million today to 7 million by 2030 - just 25 years from now. Such an influx of new residents represents an increase of 500,000 beyond current state estimates. It means that the state's population will expand from 563 people per square mile to 716 per square mile. The urgent question facing Maryland is: Where will these new residents - and the millions more who will follow them in subsequent years - live and work? Can our existing cities and towns absorb such an increase in population and jobs? What will be the cumulative effect of such an increase in population and development on the health of the already troubled Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries? What, ultimately, will be the effect on the quality of life of all Marylanders?
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Q:Will anyone be able to participate in the regional visioning exercises?
A:No, participation in the visioning exercises will be by invitation only. Each of the four regional organizing committees have developed invitation lists that are balanced among business, civic and elected leaders as well as balanced to the extent possible by geography, race and gender within each region. Invitations will be mailed in April 2006.  However, the afternoon sessions, which will focus on the implications of growth and the implementation of the developed vision, will be open to the general public.
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Q:Will all elected officials be invited to participate?
A:No, there would not be room for all elected officials in Maryland to participate. But a representative cross-section of elected officials at the municipal, county and state levels will be invited to participate in each regional exercise.
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Q:Who is paying for all of this?
A:The money for these growth visioning workshops is being raised by the organizing committee from non-profit foundations and private businesses.
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Q:Where are you getting the population and job growth statistics that will be the basis for the exercises?
A:The central source of data for this exercise will be furnished by the Maryland Department of Planning and augmented by information from academic institutions in each of the four regions.
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Q:Is this project connected in any way with the Reality Check effort recently held in the Washington, D.C. region?
A:Yes, it is connected, yet different in scope. The Washington exercise involved Washington, D.C., and 21 surrounding jurisdictions in Virginia and Maryland. Many of the organizers of the Washington Reality Check effort, including the Washington District Council of the Urban Land Institute and the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, are also involved in developing the Maryland Reality Check Plus initiative. Some of the Maryland counties that participated in the Washington regional exercise will also participate in the Maryland exercises. But the scope of the Maryland exercise is statewide, while the Washington event was more regional in nature and involved two neighboring states.
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Q:How can I get involved?
A:At this point in time, there are three important ways you or your organization can get involved with this effort: 

  • By being a financial contributor in support of the overall effort or of one of the individual regional exercises;
  • By being listed as an organizational supporter of the overall Reality Check Plus effort;
  • By volunteering to help staff the regional events by helping with registration desks or other logistical chores.
If you are interested in becoming more involved in one of these ways, please contact Jason Sartori.
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  • None Currently Scheduled

© Reality Check Plus 2006