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COG is the one place in metropolitan Washington that regularly brings leaders together to develop solutions to the region's major challenges. COG prepares plans enabling the region to receive federal funding, provides members with research and data to inform decision-making, and offers a wide range of programs, including commuter services, cooperative purchasing, technical assistance and grants, and public outreach campaigns.

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Through the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), area officials, planners, and engineers ensure a well-managed and maintained transportation system. The TPB, which is staffed by COG, conducts the federally mandated transportation planning process for the region and ensures the uninterrupted flow of federal transportation funds that area jurisdictions receive.

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Equity Emphasis Areas (EEAs)

This is a Land Use / Land Cover Map depicting forests, cropland, park land, waters features and urban and countryside development in more than 3000 square miles of the Metropolitan Washington Region as defined COG membership of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG)

This map was developed through Land Sat imagery analzyed by RESAC (Regional Earth Science Applications Center) in conjunction with the COG Department of Environmental Programs and the National Park Service.

Analysis for this maps covers the 12 major land use / land cover classifications as defined by the Chesapeake Bay Program. The nature of Land Sat imagery is such that detailed visual images are not possible as they are when using high resolution satellite imagery or low-level aerial photography. However, t he 30 meters per pixel resolution of Land Sat imagery is very useful for high altitude land cover analysis using spectral analysis techniques.

Sophisticated digital analysis software has been used to calculate the land cover data for this map and has been 'trained' on higher resolution data to achieve accurate analysis to the 90th percentile.

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Apr 03, 2025

Equity Emphasis Areas (EEAs) are a regional planning concept adopted in 2021 by the COG Board of Directors to elevate equity and inform future growth and investment decisions. As of a 2022 update, 364 of the region’s more than 1,300 census tracts are identified as EEAs, meaning they have high concentrations of low-income individuals and/or traditionally disadvantaged racial and ethnic population groups. EEAs were originally developed by the Transportation Planning Board to analyze potential impacts of its long-range transportation plan but have been applied more broadly across disciplines, such as health, housing, and climate, as part of Region United, COG's Metropolitan Washington Planning Framework for 2030.

EEAs were developed explicitly in response to specific federal transportation requirements that are no longer applicable. COG staff is currently reevaluating the tool to see if it can be expanded for other uses and include additional data points. COG recognizes that member governments are using this tool for their individual policy, planning, and programming activities, therefore this 2022 version will be available until further notice.

In addition to the map below, planners and decision-makers are encouraged to explore a maps and data microsite on High-Capacity Transit Station Areas (HCTs). The site allows users to explore regional and jurisdiction-specific maps of EEAs and High-Capacity Transit Station Areas (HCTs), data on demographic characteristics of EEAs, forecast growth in HCTs, and more.

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