Montgomery County planner John Marcolin details the ongoing creation of an urban core in Silver Spring, Maryland, the thriving unincorporated area just northeast of Washington, D.C.
Downtown Silver Spring lies at the heart of the Silver Spring central business district (CBD), an unincorporated, 250-acre transit-oriented urban area located just northeast of Washington, D.C., in Montgomery County, Maryland. Silver Spring’s core was at one time a non-descript area of parking lots, aging retail, office buildings, and boarded-up storefronts. It is now a thriving, mixed-use town center within an arts and entertainment district. The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority maintains a Red Line Metro station within a five-minute walk of the city center, and a multimodal transit center–featuring access to subway, train, local and regional bus lines, taxi service, a future light rail line, and bicycle trails–is nearing completion.
Today, Silver Spring is a rapidly redeveloping and vibrant city featuring a mix of public plazas and open space, offices, housing, hotel, retail, entertainment, transit access, and civic uses–all easily accessible on foot thanks to sustained downtown and CBD redevelopment efforts by public and private entities alike.
FULL STORY: Downtown Silver Spring

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.

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.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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