Reimagining federal property in Montgomery County: Turning challenges into opportunities

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The recent downsizing of federal agencies is having a real and immediate impact on Montgomery County—displacing workers and leaving many with uncertain futures. These changes are difficult, especially for those whose livelihoods have long been tied to federal employment. At the same time, this moment calls on land use planners to think strategically about what comes next, as it may no longer be a given that the federal government will occupy the same building and campus footprints that it has in the past. If certain federal properties are no longer needed for government use, we may have an opportunity to reimagine how these sites could serve our communities in new ways. This blog provides an overview of federal property … Continue reading

The status quo is no longer an option

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By Montgomery Planning Board Chair Artie Harris and Montgomery Planning Director Jason K. Sartori

Note to the reader: this content was originally published in the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County, MD 2025 Journal

Montgomery County is a great place to live, work, play, and learn. Like many communities nationwide, though, our status quo is no longer working when it comes to housing. Currently, the county has over 1 million residents and is expected to add 200,000 more over the next 25 years, but we are not building housing fast enough to keep up with this growth. As prices and rents have skyrocketed in recent years due to a lack of supply and other real estate market forces, current … Continue reading

From Here to There: Montgomery County’s Big Shift in Transportation Planning

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This blog is also published as a Greater Greater Washington guest column.

Montgomery County has long been a great place to work, live, learn, and visit—and our transportation choices affect every aspect of our daily life.

As the 21st century unfolded, Montgomery County has seen a growing demand for diverse transportation options and a shift away from the low-density, car-centric development that followed World War II. Over the past 15 years, the county has refocused to prioritize mixed-use developments, pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly infrastructure, enhanced public transit, and creating vibrant, walkable communities.

Today, Montgomery Planning’s recommendations emphasize a multi-modal future where residents have a meaningful range of safe, convenient, and efficient transportation choices.

What we’ve done

2013’s Countywide Transit Corridors … Continue reading

Cooling Montgomery County’s corridors

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By Montgomery Planning Staff

Residents who walk, ride bikes, and wait for buses along busy roads in the Washington, DC region more often feel the unhealthy effects of traffic-related air pollution and blistering summer days.

Asphalt roads and parking lots, as well as concrete sidewalks, absorb the sun, creating “heat islands” with higher temperatures. A 2022 heat mapping study of Montgomery County found that these areas reached up to ten degrees hotter than rural areas.

As Montgomery Planning Environmental Planner Steve Findley explained: “Obviously, anybody who is outside a vehicle – anybody who is walking, biking or rolling along the corridor or waiting for transit – is going to be exposed to these heat island impacts.”

This seemingly complex … Continue reading

Answers to the community’s questions about the University Boulevard Corridor Plan

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By Montgomery Planning Staff

Community engagement is a cornerstone of the planning process. During the process for the University Boulevard Corridor Plan (UBC), we heard about the concerns and aspirations for the plan area from community members, businesses, and other key stakeholders.

During the outreach process, it was important for us to meet this community where they were. Through community meetings, conversations, mailings, door knocking, and more, we were able to get a sense for a vision that the community wanted to see. This feedback directly inspired the draft recommendations that are currently being reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Board. View a complete list of our engagement efforts.

Part of the Planning Board’s review included a public hearing … Continue reading

The false choice between redevelopment and displacement: How investment can promote inclusive growth and prevent decline

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People are often nervous about large redevelopment plans in their neighborhoods. This wariness is understandable because there is a long history of redevelopment and exclusionary practices directly and indirectly displacing people—often people of color.1

As Montgomery Planning continues to work with the community reenvisioning some of its mature neighborhoods like eastern Silver Spring and corridors like University Boulevard a retrospective look at some recent notable redevelopments could address some of these concerns and provide lessons for current and future plans. This analysis highlights two key facts about redevelopment plans in Montgomery County.

Some of the county’s most notable redevelopment efforts have produced equitable and inclusive growth. In neighborhoods and corridors where evolution is stalled, the alternative to redevelopment is … Continue reading

Herstory: Protecting Montgomery County’s forests

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Kara Farthing still remembers her Virginia Tech forestry professor’s advice: Don’t get stuck as the “data fairy.”

During group work in the field, the professor said, female students needed to avoid always ending up as the designated note taker, even if they had the neatest handwriting. Just like their male counterparts, Farthing was told, female students needed to learn to use the forestry equipment, measure trees, and “actually get your hands dirty.”

“It tended to be the woman in the group taking the notes while the guys were out doing something,” Farthing said. The professor “would take the notebook away and hand it to one of the guys, saying to us, ‘You need to be out there. You need … Continue reading

Want to help create a thriving county? Check out the Community Planning Academy

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By Bridget Broullire and Khalid Afzal

Planning influences every part of life in Montgomery County—from where we live, work and spend our leisure time to how we move and connect with our neighbors. Community voices are essential to that journey, but planning processes can often feel opaque or complex, even when residents are deeply invested in a proposed development or the recommendations of a neighborhood master plan.

Enter the Community Planning Academy.

Montgomery Planning believes every resident should be able to meaningfully and effectively contribute to decisions that affect them. It’s why every plan and policy we draft goes through a comprehensive community engagement process, and it’s why the Montgomery Planning Board and the Montgomery County Council offer multiple … Continue reading

Montgomery County’s Development Pipeline

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The Montgomery County Development Pipeline has spurred a lot of debate as the county deals with a severe housing shortage. The pipeline is a database of projects in the county that have received regulatory approval but have not yet been built. Currently, there are 278 development projects in the pipeline, totaling just under 30,000 unbuilt housing units. Some projects have been in the pipeline for decades.

One of the most repeated narratives in Montgomery County housing-policy debates is that the number of units in the pipeline is sufficient to meet the housing needs of our county for years to come. This narrative is built on a false assumption.

This argument assumes that the amount of development that has received … Continue reading

Herstory: Q&A with Planning Board Vice Chair Mitra Pedoeem

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In the 1970s, when girls in Iran were largely deemed unworthy of a college education, Mitra Pedoeem became the only woman in a class of 60 students at the University of Tehran’s Civil Engineering College.

While Pedoeem was on vacation in the United States, the Islamic Revolution broke out in Iran. Her family told her it wasn’t safe to return home. She hasn’t been back since.

Growing up in Iran – and finding a new home in the United States – helped forge a resolve that Pedoeem says has served her well.

After retiring as the deputy director of Montgomery Parks in 2018, and then as the director of the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) in 2022, … Continue reading