As the long-awaited Silver Spring Transit Center continues construction, voices in the community want to consider a park adjacent to the forthcoming Metro stop. Dan Reed writes, however, that the area might not be well suited for a park.
Montgomery Planning Board chairman Gus Bauman is among those calling for planners to examine the possibility of building a park adjacent to the forthcoming (and overdue) Silver Spring Transit Center. Dan Reed, however, makes an argument against that idea—pointing to the area’s poor edge conditions as a reason why a park wouldn’t succeed in the area.
“It may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes, creating great parks in urban areas means more buildings. Silver Spring needs a critical mass of people and stuff to generate the activity needed to give our streets and parks life.”
Moreover, Reed argues that sometimes too many parks can create unwanted gaps in the urban experience: “Meanwhile, too many bad parks have instead created big, gaping holes in our downtown, sucking out activity and life.”
FULL STORY: It takes more than open space to make a great urban park

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie