Regional Activity Centers: 145 places in the DMV most primed for growth

The Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) voted unanimously during its May meeting to adopt an updated map of Regional Activity Centers (RACs). These 145 Activity Centers serve as a vital policy tool to support coordinated land use and transportation planning, guide infrastructure investments, and analyze regional growth.

Regional Activity Centers are diverse in size and function. They include long-established downtowns, emerging mixed-use districts, transit-accessible hubs, and areas with strong growth potential. (Click link for full map and fact sheet.)

Though the Activity Centers vary in scale and type, they share a common goal: to concentrate growth in locations that are well-planned and well-positioned for sustainable development. By directing new development toward these RACs, the region aims to better connect housing and jobs, reduce environmental impacts, and maximize the return on investment in infrastructure like public transit.

Over the past decade, RACs have become a central planning concept in COG and area governments' work, including efforts to advance COG's Region Forward Vision. They help guide where the region invests in infrastructure, and are used as selection criteria for a variety of grants administered by COG and the Transportation Planning Board that total more than $1 million annually, such as the Housing Affordability Planning (HAPP) Program, the Transportation Land-Use Connections Program, the Regional Roadway Safety Program, and the Transportation Set-Aside Program.

Despite taking up only six percent of the region's land, the 145 Activity Centers are forecasted to absorb over half percent of its population growth and more than two-thirds of its employment growth, between 2020 and 2050, according to the Round 10.0 forecast.

The fastest growing Regional Activity Center in the region is forecasted to be Tysons, with over 100,000 new residents and jobs between 2020 and 2050. The District of Columbia's fastest growing Regional Activity Center will be New York Ave NE, with over 45,000 new residents and jobs by 2050. In Maryland, the North Bethesda RAC will experience the most growth, adding approximately 38,000 people and jobs by 2050.

Approximately two-thirds of RACs are currently served-or will be served-by high-capacity transit, including Metrorail, commuter rail, and light rail systems such as the Purple Line. The population living in Activity Centers is also expected to increase by 53 percent between 2020 and 2050, far outpacing the regional average growth during that same time period.

The 2025 update builds upon the foundation set by the original RAC map in 2002 and subsequent updates in 2007 and 2013. COG staff worked in collaboration with local government planning departments throughout 2024 to review and verify designated areas.

While the underlying methodology to select Activity Centers remains unchanged from the 2013 update, the latest map reflects COG's Round 10.0 Cooperative Forecasts of regional growth and incorporates updates from recently adopted local plans. As a result, the number of RACs has increased slightly, with four more centers total in the new update.

This update does not introduce new eligibility criteria. As before, designated Centers must meet two core criteria: being identified in a jurisdiction's adopted land use plan and ranking in the top half of projected population and employment density. At least two of four secondary criteria must also be met related to intersection density, transit accessibility, land use mix, and housing plus transportation affordability.

COG's updated Activity Centers map is an important step in keeping regional planning efforts aligned with local priorities and projected growth. The new map ensures that planning and investment are focused on areas where they will have the greatest impact-on livability, equity, and sustainability across the Washington region.