Maryland

The runaway success of Washington D.C.'s bikeshare program, in less than two years of operation, has it poised to expand to the city's suburbs this year.

Steven Pearlstein reads the tea leaves to predict the future development patterns in Washington, D.C. and finds that all signs point inwards to the city center and its closer-in suburbs.

Investment in improving public spaces seen as key to keeping and attracting businesses and residents in Baltimore.

Over "vehement objections from Republicans", Maryland's Governor uses a 37-year-old law to implement the state's master plan. Called Plan Maryland, the plan is focused on controlling the state's rapid growth.

According to Miles Grant, "the streetcar is a relative bargain purely on the basis of direct cost per estimated user, not even including the external costs of sprawl and pollution that new and improved highways engender."

Pocomoke City officials have funded the construction of a restaurant and bar in their city with no tenant on the horizon - just hopes to attract a star chef and spur economic development downtown.

In Maryland, the Washingtonian Tower has been the tallest skyscraper in Montgomery County. Developers in White Flint are proposing an even taller building that will incorporate mixed-use, transit-oriented, and retail/office development in one plan.

In Maryland, the Montgomery County Park and Planning Commision received a $200,000 grant to study moving its offices. The County Executive, Ike Leggett says "its the best way to kick-start the revitalization of downtown Wheaton."

North Bethesda's White Flint Mall is your standard 850,000 sq. ft. mall surrounded by parking structures. The developer has announced it will be replacing the whole thing with a 5 million sq. ft. collection of apartments, offices and shops.

Baltimore's City Council has voted to not approve a bill that would provide non-profit urban farmers tax breaks, leaving some officials steamed.

For Washington D.C., ASLA polled members to develop a new "comprehensive framework" connecting sustainability with economic development.

A technology company in Maryland has developed a speed bump that captures the kinetic energy of the cars driving over it and sends it back into the grid.

Reporting on a topic of discussion at the Greening Greater Washington Conference, Neal Peirce expounds on how public transit choices has bolstered regionalism around the nation's capital.

A large chunk of the state's developed land is designated as low to very low single-family residential, which explains an exceptionally high percentage of workers who commute to work alone. PlanMaryland seeks to change this unsustainable trend.

Howard County, Maryland's Agricultural Land Preservation Program has taken advantage of the down market to purchase more than 1,000 acres of farmland.

Developers in Frederick, ND are aiming to build "green" homes that middle income buyers can afford. The homes are sporting features such as, solar panels, geothermal heating and high-tech computer systems that are typically found in high end homes.

Anne Arundel County, Maryland is embroiled in a debate over controversial zoning changes to rural areas that Executive John R. Leopold is calling "egregious spot zoning".