What should Maryland look like in 20 years?
The unfortunate events surrounding the confirmation process for the Maryland Department of Planning secretary lead to two bigger questions: What should the state’s lead smart-growth agency be doing...
View ArticleGreen Homes Challenge: Saving energy and money! Learn how it can work for you.
Every year for the past six hears, the Frederick County Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources has hosted an event to celebrate the households in Frederick County that are going […] The...
View ArticleGreat idea: Incremental development
Great places are built in small increments, and urbanists are restoring America’s know-how and capacity for small-scale development by many individuals in their own communities. Do you want to be […]...
View ArticleLive Downtown Frederick Housing Symposium (Friday evening, April 28)
Downtown Frederick Partnership is working towards a goal of welcoming 335 new residents to Downtown Frederick by 2020. Reusing, adapting and growing the Downtown Frederick building stock is the...
View ArticleFarmers Surveyed on Composting
Survey Reveals Interest, Questions about On-Farm Composting A survey of Frederick County farmers indicates interest in expanded use of off-farm organics to make compost. The survey, done in advance of...
View ArticleBrenda Platt on May 25th: Composting to reduce waste, create jobs and fight...
Envision Frederick County and the Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies at Hood College are very pleased to invite you to join us for a free presentation by Brenda Platt […] The post Brenda Platt on...
View ArticleSupport the bill to Prevent Zoning Amendments immediately before and after...
There is an important public hearing this Tuesday evening (May 2, at 7:00pm) for County Executive Jan Gardner’s proposed legislation to prohibit zoning amendments six months before and three months […]...
View ArticleGreen Neighbor Festival: Culler Lake in the spotlight (May 20 & 21)
In a few short weeks, Culler Lake will be the site of the first ever Green Neighbor Festival celebrating environmentally friendly practices to protect our natural resources. In 2015-2016, Culler […]...
View ArticleGreat idea: Mixed-use urban centers
In the 20th Century, retail shifted from main streets and downtowns to strip shopping centers, enclosed malls, and big box stores. Building and revitalizing urban centers is one of the […] The post...
View ArticleAddiction on the Monocacy
I climbed through the pile of debris, a great mass of limbless logs, sticks, mud, and leaves driven together in a recent flood, in order to grab the Frappuccino bottle […] The post Addiction on the...
View ArticleIs placemaking a ‘new environmentalism?’
If our approach to environmentalism should be “new,” so too should our approach to urbanism. Can placemaking – in short, the building or strengthening of physical community fabric to create […] The...
View ArticleGreat idea: Form-based codes
New urban codes have allowed cities and towns to code for complete neighborhoods and public spaces as shared-use places. Since the middle of the 20th Century, zoning has been a […] The post Great idea:...
View ArticleWhy Greenspace is different from a Park
It’s nice to be outside and among nature, especially this time of year. For urban residents, access to nature is particularly important because it’s not as easy to come by. […] The post Why Greenspace...
View ArticleTrout in the Classroom
Middle school students are getting a chance to see firsthand how healthy ecological systems maintain quality of life by raising trout in the classroom and eventually releasing these fingerlings, as […]...
View ArticleSmart Growth America’s “(Re)Building Downtown”
Smart Growth America is a great resource for any citizen, planner or elected official interested in planning and development and land use. About a year and a half ago, Smart […] The post Smart Growth...
View ArticlePanel Discussion: “Advancing the Public Interest for the People of Frederick”
Please check out the media advisory below, and consider joining us for a lively conversation, at Winchester Hall, between Jan Gardner (County Executive), Ron Young (State Senator), Bud Otis (County […]...
View ArticlePresentation (June 20th): Livable Frederick and East Frederick Rising
Join us on Tuesday evening at the new McClintock Distilling Company, in downtown Frederick, for a free and informative presentation and discussion about Livable Frederick and East Frederick Rising, two...
View ArticleThe Politics of Personal Destruction in Frederick County
EDITOR’S NOTE: We thank Rick Brace for sharing this perspective about one of the disturbing aspects of the recent, ongoing and heated controversy about the Monocacy Scenic River Advisory Board […] The...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Change How We Measure Affordable Housing
The “commonly accepted” 30 percent standard for judging housing affordability leaves out transportation and location. I’ve long been dissatisfied with commonly used measures of describing housing...
View ArticleThe Smarter Growth Alliance for Frederick County celebrates with a Gathering...
It was a great afternoon in early June at the beautiful Hall’s Choice Farm near New Market. The Smarter Growth Alliance for Frederick County hosted an afternoon gathering for the […] The post The...
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