The results of a recent statewide growth visioning exercise show a continuing desire to reign in sprawl by focusing development in urban areas along transit lines.
"A broad cross-section of Marylanders favors steering most of the state's expected population growth over the next 25 years into already-existing communities and preserving more rural land than local officials are planning to do, according to a new report..
The report, summarizing a series of growth 'visioning' workshops last spring, says participants generally agreed there should be a major shift in Maryland's land-use patterns, increasing development density inside the Baltimore and Washington beltways and along transit lines - in some cases beyond what current zoning allows - to spare forests and farmland from the bulldozer."
"[However,] workshop organizers acknowledged that proposals to increase development density are not politically popular, as residents complain about clogged roads, overcrowded classrooms and loss of green space."
" 'There is some disconnect between that desire [to concentrate development] and what happens on the ground,' said John W. Frece, associate director of UM's Smart Growth research center and the report's primary author. 'There are two things people don't like - one is sprawl, and the other is density.' "
"The U.S. Census Bureau has projected that Maryland, the fifth-most densely populated state in the country, will grow from 5.5 million people now to 7 million by 2030. An additional 28,000 households and 45,000 jobs are expected in the next decade as a result of a nationwide military base reorganization."
FULL STORY: Marylanders favor preservation, report says
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.