Montgomery County

Maryland

Montgomery County Community Wants Walkability for its Town Center

A series of new investments in the civic realm aren’t enough—some in Wheaton, Maryland want the community to catch up with its neighbors in providing a walkable town center.

August 8, 2018 - Bethesda Magazine

Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland Updates Inclusionary Housing Requirements

New rules will require more affordable housing in affluent areas, but also allow more exceptions.

August 2, 2018 - Bethesda Magazine

Rain Garden or 'Pit of Death'?

Who knew green infrastructure was such a divisive topic?

July 3, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

A License to Short-Term Rent

New regulation staking effect in July will require Montgomery County, Maryland residents to apply for license if they want to rent property on sites like Airbnb, HomeAway, and more.

June 20, 2018 - WTOP

A Public Service Announcement to Explain Newfangled Bike Infrastructure

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation set up a website to explain the new rules of the multi-modal road.

May 31, 2018 - Montgomery County Department of Transportation

Scramble Tokyo

'Barnes Dance' Coming to Montgomery County, Maryland

While popular and common in other countries, the "Barnes Dance" crosswalk is sill catching on in the United States. Montgomery County, Maryland is the latest to test out the "All Direction" crosswalk.

May 11, 2018 - Montgomery County Government

Washington, D.C. Apartment

Toward a System of Adaptive Reuse Feasibility

A relative lack of conversions from office to residential—the adaptive reuse model driving the housing market in many urban areas—makes the Washington, D.C. region a perfect place to study the factors that make or break an adaptive reuse proposal.

November 21, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Lessons from an Inclusive Suburb

The suburban experiment of Clarksburg, Maryland hasn't been totally successful, according to this article, but it still offers many lessons for other communities like it.

September 5, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Purple Line Extension

U.S. DOT Brings Maryland Purple Line Back From the Dead

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland are expected to sign a funding agreement next week for the Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

August 23, 2017 - The Washington Post

Maryland

Affordable Housing Incentives Get Pushback in Maryland

Montgomery County's plan for Bethesda calls for height bonuses in return for affordable housing. Residents neighboring the proposed incentive zones have successfully resisted that idea.

August 1, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Urban Agriculture

Tax Credits to Encourage Urban Agriculture

Montgomery County, Maryland is the latest municipality to approve an agricultural tax credit to to create incentives for agricultural uses in urban areas.

March 10, 2017 - Source of the Spring

Montgomery County BRT Could Change Life for Commuters Around D.C.

Montgomery County has been considering a Bus Rapid Transit System for close to a decade, a study released this year details the improvements the system promises to bring.

January 31, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Pedestrian-Friendly City

A New Method to the Planning Vision for Bethesda, Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland is pursuing significant changes for Downtown Bethesda. The proof is in the draft Bethesda Downtown Plan—a long-range land use plan that would allow a new approach to density.

December 28, 2016 - The Washington Post

Montgomery County Planners Target 4,2000 New Housing Units

The Montgomery County Planning Department is making the case for more housing to meet the growing number of jobs in the county.

November 21, 2016 - Greater Greater Washington

C&O Canal

A Case Study of Rural Gentrification

Concepts like erasure, greenfield development, and easements figure into this story about a rural community on the fringes of suburban development in Maryland's Montgomery County.

July 21, 2016 - National Council on Public History

Beijing Bike

What a 'Bicycle Stress Map' Reveals About the Streets of Montgomery County

A new map quantifies the stress levels for bike riders on the streets of Montgomery County, Maryland.

May 19, 2016 - CityLab

School Buses

Texas School Bans Walking to School

Not only does Bear Branch Elementary School in Magnolia ISD prohibit walking to and from school: Montgomery County constables will arrest scofflaws.

April 8, 2016 - Fox 26

Affordable housing

Op-Ed: Affordability Crisis Dwarfs Affordability Policies

Although the political optics are hard to see, Daniel Hertz argues that policies like inclusionary zoning need to be strengthened by orders of magnitude to have more than a token impact on housing affordability.

February 27, 2016 - City Observatory

Texas Votes to Keep Old Road Spending Habits

Lots of dollar signs were flying around on Texas ballots last week, many of which were headed toward road construction measures. The Houston Chronicle, however, points out the shortcomings of the state's patterns of investment.

November 9, 2015 - Houston Chronicle

CTA Buses

Want to Make a Better City? Build a Better Bus System

It's simple, according to this Washington Post column: better buses make a better city.

October 13, 2015 - The Washington Post

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.