![\"\"](\"http:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/SS-Civic-building.jpg\")
<\/a>Kids are drawn to the Civic Building plaza<\/p><\/div>\n
That\u2019s more than anecdotal. The 2008 Census Update survey conducted by the Planning Department\u2019s research arm found that Montgomery County ranks first in the Washington Region in the percentage of foreign born population (30 percent). The County population<\/a> is 48 percent minority, and we will soon become \u201cmajority minority.\u201d<\/p>\n But the county\u2019s diversity goes far beyond ethnicity. Increasingly, we are diversifying our types of housing \u2013 more multifamily condos and apartments to catch up with large-lot single-family homes.<\/p>\n We also have seen more diversity in businesses. While the economy has constricted the number of new jobs, county employment is still diversified into health care, construction, government, the service industry and education.<\/p>\n Finally, we are diverse in our ways of getting around. According to our 2008 survey, people commuting by transit increased from 13 percent in 1997 to 18 percent a decade later. When the weather is fine, I can\u2019t count how many people I see commuting by bike. It\u2019s refreshing.<\/p>\n Those are just a few ways MoCo is diverse. But tell us what diversity means to you<\/em>. The contest, 20 Images about the Future: Celebrating Diversity in MoCo<\/em>, kicks off the Planning Department\u2019s fall speaker series. Since we are co-sponsoring our series with the Silver Spring Regional Center, the contest and subsequent presentations will take place at the Silver Spring Civic Building<\/a>, a beautiful new space in the downtown near Metro. Presentations about diversity are just the type of community event envisioned for this dramatic space. Join us!<\/p>\n