When Ben Harris and his wife moved from Logan Circle in DC to an apartment off of Rockville Pike in 2011, he didn’t know what to call his new neighborhood.
“I was telling people where I live and they would ask ‘What neighborhood is that?’” he says.
This confusion inspired the name of Harris’s new local blog, NorthFlintVille.…
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Just a quick Google search of “cities vs. suburbs” will tell you that this debate isn’t as simple as which is one is better than the other. The new debate is whether or not this distinction is even relevant anymore.
Two recent articles from the Urban Land Institute, Richard Florida’s “The Fading Differentiation between City and Suburb” and Trisha Riggs’ “How to Make Suburbs Work Like Cities” delve further into this issue.…
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The Coalition for Smarter Growth is hosting an exciting forum next week for local environmentalists, urbanists and transit advocates. Part of their Walking Tours & Forums Series, “The Next Generation of Transit: The Key to Montgomery’s Green Future” will feature Smart Growth America’s CEO, Geoff Anderson, and County Councilmember Roger Berliner.…
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I’ve written before about how mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods benefit all age groups, but now we’re seeing these trends exemplified closer to home. Last month, the Washington Examiner published a piece on how the principles of New Urbanism serve community members throughout the lifespan. Both young professionals and downsizing Boomers are seeking compact, centralized housing.…
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Next week, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Friends of White Flint are hosting a happy hour on how to “make the suburbs hip.” While that might conjure images of trying to jury-rig H Street on Rockville Pike, the transformation of White Flint goes much further than that. The redevelopment of strip malls and parking lots into real urban places has real social, economic and environmental benefits.…
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Trees are an important part of any urban environment, providing shade, oxygen, and even calming traffic. Of course, they’re also great to look at. As a result, protecting and expanding Montgomery County’s tree canopy has been a growing issue in recent months.
A study done by the University of Vermont for the Montgomery County Planning Department found that while half of the county is covered by trees, the county’s urban areas have a much smaller tree canopy.…
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Greetings and Welcome to the reimagined Friends of White Flint Website and Blog!
Change is happening fast in White Flint and we are here to guide you every step of the way. Stay tuned to these blog posts for information on current events throughout the White Flint area, as well as news on development plans as they are released.…
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In June, the Montgomery County Department of General Services held two meetings to receive public input on the location and exact description of the public amenities proposed in the White Flint Sector Plan. http://blog.friendsofwhiteflint.org/2011/05/23/white-flint-charettes-june-1-16/. The charettes followed months of controversy about the consulting contract, and especially the cost. http://blog.friendsofwhiteflint.org/2011/04/12/do-you-know-who-youre-hiring-april-11-meeting-of-white-flint-implementation-committee/, http://blog.friendsofwhiteflint.org/2011/04/13/diane-schwartz-jones-responds-to-concerns-about-public-amenities-charette-process/.…
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From Nkosi Yearwood, chief planner for White Flint:
The November meeting of the White Flint Implementation Advisory is scheduled for Monday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Wall Local Park (5900 Executive Blvd). The proposed sketch plan for White Flint Mall is the main agenda item.
Barnaby Zall
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