Hispanic Heritage Month

How a devastating hurricane launched a planning career

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Montgomery Planning is proud to have a team of planners who reflect Montgomery County’s rich culture. As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting some of our planners working to craft a better future for our diverse county.

When Hurricane Maria roared through Puerto Rico, Justine Gonzalez Velez saw how homes that had been allowed in areas prone to landslides and flooding were destroyed and swept away.

“A lot of people, a lot of families in Puerto Rico, lost their houses,” said Gonzalez Velez, who was in his first year of college at the time. “They lost their lives. They lost all the things they had worked for their entire lives – and that was a byproduct … Continue reading

Building community one bike ride at a time

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By Montgomery Planning Staff

Montgomery Planning is proud to have a team of planners who reflect Montgomery County’s rich multiculturism. As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting some of our planners working to craft a better future for a diverse Montgomery County.

Almost every Friday, Mario Emanuel Perez and his two children set off for a 30-minute bike ride to their Silver Spring elementary school, picking up dozens of other students and parents along the way.

Perez, who goes by “Ema,” organizes the weekly “bike bus” to encourage people of all ages to ride. The cycling trips, he said, benefit their health, take traffic off the road, and shorten the school’s car drop-off line. Meanwhile, he … Continue reading