A Model Plan for Greening Suburban Downtowns

F. Kaid Benfield provides analysis of the Bethesda Downtown Plan, calling the plan for the bustling Maryland suburb an opportunity to set a standard of urban sustainability for other communities.

1 minute read

December 30, 2014, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"If planners for Bethesda, Maryland fully realize a conceptual vision now being offered to community leaders and the public, the once-quiet but now-bustling suburb's downtown could become a nationally relevant example of urban sustainability," according to an article by F. Kaid Benfield in The Huffington Post.

"Particularly significant," in Benfield's opinion, "would be two to three neighborhood-scaled 'ecodistricts' within the downtown that would lead the way with showcase practices to accelerate and intensify environmental performance.

Benfield goes on to take a deeper look both at the community of Bethesda, but also at the early stages of planning for the Bethesda Downtown Plan, which will be the neighborhood's first planning update in 20 years.

Monday, December 29, 2014 in The Huffington Post

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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