The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) manages planning and development in Howard County, Maryland, a Central Maryland jurisdiction equidistant between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Land use in Howard County has evolved over time. Roughly 60 percent of land in Howard County is dedicated, protected for rural uses, with the remaining 40 percent shifting over time from suburban to focused, mixed use nodes. Affluent Howard County offsets higher infrastructure costs of low-density development with high-valued homes that generate greater property and transfer taxes.