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'New Town' Columbia May Go Urban

Posted by: Nate Berg

20 January 2009 - 11:00am

The "new town" of Columbia, Maryland, was built in the 1960s as a model for new growth. The area has remained primarily suburban, but plans for a revitalization district could bring an urban look to this suburban town.

"Founded as a 'new town' four decades ago by James Rouse, Columbia is still not an incorporated municipality but rather an area, albeit a large one, of Howard County. It encompasses many land uses and nearly 100,000 people but has remained predominantly a bedroom community. Columbia is "sub-urban" and continues to convey a pastoral image, with its low density and curving parkways and streets, and looping drives and cul-de-sacs."

"But that could change if Howard County approves a proposal on the future of Columbia's center."

"General Growth Properties, a Chicago company that owns about 240 acres of the 364-acre Town Center Revitalization District, including the sprawling Mall in Columbia and acres of surface parking, has submitted an ambitious plan to reshape parts of the district into a more urban downtown."

Full Story: Reimagining 'New Town' Columbia as a New City
Source: The Washington Post, January 17, 2009
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Short of erasing existing political and jurisdictional boundaries, citizens and officials need to develop the capacity to work across boundaries according to the "problem-sheds" of the land and water issues we face in the 21st century.
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