Planning

A career shaped by one belief: Everyone deserves a place to live

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By Montgomery Planning staff

While attending the University of Texas at Austin in the early 2000s, James Hedrick witnessed what happens when a city’s population growth outpaces its housing supply.

Austin, already tight on housing, was booming with new tech companies–and the high-paid workers who followed. As rising rents left more residents unhoused and forced others out of lower-income neighborhoods, Hedrick joined  the local mayoral campaign of Max Nofziger, which was centered on the city’s affordable housing crisis.

“People have got to live somewhere,” Hedrick said. “If you don’t plan for and provide the amount of housing that you need, it’s the community that suffers.”

While his candidate lost, Hedrick would go on to devote his career to providing more … Continue reading

ADUs across the country: What actually works, and why it matters for our neighborhoods

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An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a second dwelling unit that is subordinate to the principal dwelling on the same lot and they have been a part of the American housing tradition for over two centuries.  ADUs within existing neighborhoods can solve many of the housing problems faced by Montgomery County residents today. Imagine a backyard cottage that lets an aging parent live close by, or a basement apartment that helps a returning college graduate afford a place to live in the neighborhood where they grew up, or a converted garage rented to a local teacher that helps an owner pay down a large mortgage. These small units, which can be found tucked into backyards, basements, and converted garages … Continue reading

Montgomery Planning Board Commissioner Josh Linden wants communities that welcome cyclists and walkers

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By Montgomery Planning staff

Josh Linden, a Montgomery County Planning Board Commissioner, starts his mornings with a pressing question from his 4-year-old daughter: “Are we taking the bike today?”

The answer is usually yes. The 15-minute ride to preschool aboard their electric cargo bike brings waves from passing neighbors as Linden’s daughter sings along to “Moana” and other Disney soundtracks wafting from a small speaker attached to the back.

“It’s the best part of my day,” he said.

Even so, they must stick to neighborhood streets and the Sligo Creek Trail, careful to avoid Sligo Avenue. Their stretch near downtown Silver Spring has narrow sidewalks and no bike lanes, stop signs or traffic signals, all of which leave cars … Continue reading

Complete Communities are not complete without a corner store

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One of the fondest memories I have as a young child was visiting the corner store a few blocks away from my grandparents’ house in Iron Mountain, Michigan. My brother, sister and I would walk down the tree-lined street to the store without our parents, exploring the neighborhood and feeling cool and independent in search of an ice cream cone or an ice-cold Coke. The store was on the first floor of a Victorian house on the corner of two residential streets with a front stoop, a couple signs dangling down and an apartment upstairs. Everyone walked to the corner store except for a couple of people who drove up and parked out front to grab a loaf of … Continue reading

Montgomery County planners want to make sure everyone benefits from the Purple Line

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

As Montgomery County eagerly awaits next year’s anticipated opening of the Purple Line, we know few communities stand to gain as much from the massive light-rail investment as those located south of the Capital Beltway between Sligo Creek and the Prince George’s County line.

That area will have three Purple Line stations: Manchester Place, Long Branch, and Piney Branch Road. At the same time, the county has plans to add fast, frequent bus service, known as bus rapid transit (BRT), to University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue, complementing today’s BRT line on Colesville Road.

When built, many of the area’s 37,000 residents will live within … Continue reading

Greening the gaps: How local students are transforming small spaces into community parks

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Imagine, for a moment, that you are in your favorite outdoor place. What things would you expect to see there? Children playing soccer? Tall trees and flowering shrubs? Maybe there is a pond or stream. This place deserves your attention and care.

People love parks. Not only do they provide the benefits of being outdoors, such as improved mental health outcomes, but parks provide a space to gather socially. Think of the very name of this blog, The Third Place – the social realm separate from home and the workplace. “Pocket parks” are one way to ensure equitable access to greenspace, and Montgomery Planning’s Reforest Montgomery program is helping one ambitious and environmentally minded high school student make his … Continue reading

The “Great Housing Reversal” and the American Dream: What comes next?

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An insightful new lens for understanding the country’s housing challenges comes from “The Great Housing Reversal and the New American Dream,” a compelling book by Mike Hathorne. Hathorne argues that the United States is not experiencing a temporary housing cycle but a lasting structural reversal. For decades, our housing system was built around a single dominant household type: married couples with children buying a detached home on a large lot in the suburbs. That model shaped zoning, financing, and the very idea of the American Dream.

Hathorne suggests that younger generations are prioritizing connection, belonging, and proximity over large houses and big yards. They want to live near people, places, and experiences. Empty nesters increasingly want to downsize into … Continue reading

How Montgomery Planning Board Commissioner Shawn Bartley came to “champion” single-family homes

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By Montgomery Planning staff

Montgomery Planning is celebrating Black History Month by sharing the voices, journeys, and impact of Montgomery Planning’s Black leaders.

Shawn Bartley remembers how safe he felt growing up in his family’s house in Moreno Valley, Calif., especially the small but private yard where an introverted 8-year-old like him could play in peace and quiet.

His family of four had been so excited to move there that they’d often drive out to the construction site to photograph their new home as it took shape. The house was small, about 1,200 square feet. But it would allow them to escape a gang-ridden area of nearby East Riverside. An apartment complex there had been what his family … Continue reading

Montgomery Planning Board Chair Artie Harris grew up learning to give back

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By Montgomery Planning staff

Montgomery Planning is celebrating Black History Month by sharing the voices, journeys, and impact of Montgomery Planning’s Black leaders.

Artie Harris worries that Montgomery County’s skyrocketing home prices will leave too many residents, including his two adult daughters, unable to afford a home in a neighborhood like the one where they grew up.

It’s one reason why helping the county get “unstuck” from its affordable housing crisis feels personal–and remains Harris’ top priority as chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board.

As Harris helps chart Montgomery’s future, he wants the county to offer more reasonably priced homes in all sizes, from large apartments for growing families to starter homes for young buyers and smaller … Continue reading

Reimagining Public Space: A Merit Award for Placemaking on Bethesda Avenue

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This blog is part of a series that highlights the winners of the 2025 Design Excellence Awards.

Placemaking is the act of improving a common space to make it welcoming and attractive, so it better serves the needs of the people who use it. It is both a process and an outcome. As a process, it is a collaborative effort to plan, design, and manage public spaces in ways that enhance community health, happiness, and well-being. It relies on active participation from community members to create a shared vision: transforming ordinary spaces into vibrant destinations that strengthen connections between people and their environment.

As an outcome, placemaking results in spaces that foster social interaction, environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and health. … Continue reading