The Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), created in 1995, encourages new firms to locate in Maryland and established firms to expand their in-state facilities, promotes the tourist industry, and disseminates information about the state's history and attractions. The department helps secure industrial mortgage loans for businesses that create new jobs, and also provides small-business loans, low-interest construction loads, assistance in plant location and expansion; and supports the Division of Business and Industrial Development to allow companies to maximize their use of state services. In addition, the department assists local governments in attracting federal funds for economic development and maintains programs to encourage minority businesses, the marketing of seafood, and the use of Ocean City Convention Hall. The DBED maintains a representative in Brussels to promote European investment in Maryland. The Department of State Planning oversees state and regional development programs and helps local governments develop planning goals.
During the 1930s, Maryland pioneered in urban design with the new town of Greenbelt, in Prince George's County. A wholly planned community, Columbia, was built in Howard County during the 1960s. More recently, redevelopment of Baltimore's decaying inner city has been aggressively promoted. Harborplace, a waterside pavilion featuring hundreds of shops and restaurants, formally opened in 1980, and an industrial park was developed in a high-unemployment section of northwest Baltimore during the early 1980s. Not far from Harborplace are the 33-story World Trade Center and the National Aquarium. Urban restoration has also been encouraged by urban homesteading: a Baltimorean willing to make a commitment to live in an old brick building and fix it up can submit a closed bid to buy it. An analogous "shopsteading" program to attract merchants has also been encouraged.
In 1982, Maryland initiated a program of state enterprise zones to encourage economic growth by focusing state and local resources on designated areas requiring economic stimulus. Five of these enterprise zones were located in western Maryland, four in the central part of the state, and one on the Eastern Shore. There were 34 state enterprise zones in 2000. In 2001, Maryland had the highest percent of professional and technology workers among the states, and Johns Hopkins was ranked first among hospitals. With Delaware, Virginia, and Washington DC, Maryland has been recognized as part of an international life sciences hub, dubbed the BioCapital hub. Maryland companies and agencies participate in bioscience "hotbed" campaigns, including ones in 2003, concerted efforts by groups made up of government development agencies, pharmaceutical and bioscience companies, research institutes, universities, and nonprofits to attract capital, personnel and resources to develop a life sciences cluster. Over 500 foreign-based businesses have been established in Maryland, creating over 75,000 jobs. The Office of International Business (OIB) within the DBED, offers assistance to foreign companies for location, relocation, and expansion, in addition to providing assistance to Maryland exporters.