SILVER SPRING, MD – An international architect and urban planner specializing in smart growth for academia and research will address the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, September 17 as part of its 2009 Growing Smarter Speaker Series.
Dhiru Thadani, an architect and urbanist with more than 25 years experience researching and designing compact, mixed-use developments, will describe how to link technology and research with public transportation to the Board, planners and members of the public. Using a local example – M Square, a transit-oriented master plan in College Park, Maryland – Thadani will provide insight into innovative planning for universities and research clients locating near Metro.
M Square is a research village and transit-oriented plan for the University of Maryland at College Park that spans 293 acres and develops links between Metro, University shuttle buses, automobiles and pedestrians to create a balance of land uses and minimize vehicular use.
Thadani’s work has spanned North and Central America, Europe and Asia and includes urban design, town planning, architectural design, interior design, landscape design, construction management, graphic design, and rendering. Some of Thadani’s other U.S. work includes a college town district for the University of Kentucky, a mixed-use development for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a mixed-use research village for the University of Texas at Austin, a student/community town on the edge of the University of Notre Dame, and a research campus at Carnegie Mellon University.
Thadani recently co-edited and designed a book with Leon Krier called “The Architecture of Community,” published by Island Press. The book presents a comprehensive theory and implementation strategy for repairing and revitalizing fragmented towns and cities into sustainable and humane communities.
Thadani is the latest of a series of monthly speakers to present before the Board this year. Continuing education credits have been approved for AICP members.
CM I 1.5 CM credits are approved for this activity. AICP members will earn Certification Maintenance
credits.
Who:
Montgomery County Planning Board
What:
Dhiru Thadani presenting “Compact, Complete and Connected”
When:
7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 17
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring
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