Maryland
Leaving a Legacy of Smart Growth
Maryland's Governor O'Malley, heading into his 2nd and last term, wants to leave behind a legacy of environmental improvement, including new smart growth policies to limit building in rural areas.
Bike Projects Create More Jobs Than Road Projects
A new report from the Political Economy Research Institute says that bike and pedestrian projects create 11 to 14 jobs per million dollars spent, while road construction only creates 7 per million.
Smaller Cities Attracting High Tech
Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland have the right stuff to woo the high-tech industry despite their modest size, says Monique Wassenaar Silverio.
West Baltimore's 'Highway to Nowhere' Coming Down
This past Friday, demolition began on a segment of Baltimore's infamous "Highway to Nowhere" to expand parking for the local commuter rail service (MARC). A side benefit: reuniting communities separated since the 1970s.
Suburban Living With Urban Amenities
Bill Fulton visits his family in Rockville, Maryland, and discovers that a young family looking for suburban space can find it within walking distance of the library, the Metro stop, and mixed-use development.
Maglev: Dreaming the Impossible Dream?
The idea of a magnetic levitation train has been bubbling for decades, but has yet to materialize in the U.S. Some say the idea is a pipe dream, but this column from The Baltimore Sun says the idea just needs the right home.
De-Paving and Improving Urban Permeability
A new test program to de-pave the city of Baltimore is turning the soil formerly covered by city school playgrounds. The project is aimed at reducing runoff.
Urban Lifestyle Preference On The Rise
Using the 15-year-old transformation of Rockville, MD's mall-centered downtown to a mixed-use town square as an example, the real estate industry sees the suburban-to-urban lifestyle change spreading across much of the country.
New Development: Always a Good Sign?
Dan Rodricks has been reading a lot of "good news" about new residential building permits being taken out around Baltimore, and questions whether new development is always a good sign.
The Food Element of Sustainability in Baltimore
The City of Baltimore has appointed a new "food czar" to look at food health and access issues in the city. In the broader senses, though, officials in the city look at this new position as a part of their sustainability planning.
Stumbling Toward a Smart Grid
The Infrastructurist reports on a recent panel about smart grid technology -- and its awkward timing right after a major smart grid plan was shot down by the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Baltimore Points The Way Forward For Urban Renewal
Neal Peirce describes how Baltimore's first mixed income neighborhood since WWII is taking shape on the east side just north of the Johns Hopkins campus.
A Drastic New Life For Baltimore's Middle Branch Shoreline
Baltimore's Middle Branch waterfront has sat unused for years, since its recent decline as an industrial hub. But a developer has a new plan to drastically remake the 52-acre shoreline.
Science City Approved in Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland, could become home to a new "science city" development that creates a hub of scientific research institutions and thousands of jobs.
Developers Spearhead Smart Growth Makeover
Rockville Pike, Maryland has grown haphazardly and auto-centrically for the past few decades. A group of developers has brought planners and politicians together to makeover the town with smart growth principles.
Embracing Baltimore's Existing Arts Districts, Not Creating New Ones
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake wants to turn the city's west side into an arts district. This article from The Baltimore Sun argues that the city already has enough arts districts and should focus efforts on those.
TOD Plans Approved in White Flint
Montgomery County officials have approved plans to build an extensive new transit-oriented neighborhood at the area around the White Flint Metro stop in North Bethesda, Maryland. The plan is one of the largest in the D.C. area since the 1950s.
Mega-Project Gets Miniaturized
Dwindling tax revenues force fiscal restraint in Maryland, where planners are shifting money from highway expansion to infrastructure maintenance.
New TODs Face Competition, Parking Issues
Recent transit-oriented developments in Maryland have mixed success. Demographics are on their side, but lack of parking and fierce competition make retail a significant challenge.
Maryland Envisions Offshore Wind Economy
Wind energy could generate two-thirds of the electricity people in Maryland currently use according to a new report funded by the Abell Foundation. It calls for installation of 2900 turbines far enough offshore so landlubbers can't see them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
