Three-day conference exploring planning and design topics related to the sharing economy, equity and opportunity, and transforming communities without transit generated exciting new ideas.
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, closed out the Makeover Montgomery 3: Balancing Change in America’s Suburbs Conference on Friday, May 6, 2016. The three-day conference was host to more than 300 attendees who heard from more than 90 speakers across three topics: the sharing economy, beyond transit-oriented development, and equity and opportunity in the suburbs. Attendees heard presentations focused on innovations and new policy tools and strategies that can help enhance the suburbs, making them more exciting, equitable and attractive.
Watch a video recap of the conference.
The conference, in partnership with the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland, began on Wednesday, May 4 at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning with a keynote address from Karen Chapple. Chapple, a professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, discussed strategies for equitable smart growth.
“I am a big believer in University and community partnerships, and this is what our public universities should be doing. We’re land-grant universities and we ought to be providing technical support for our city and county governments,” said Chapple. “This is the third Makeover Montgomery conference, and I think it’s going to become more and more important every year to do events like this because the issues we are facing aren’t going away any time soon.”
Following the keynote address, Makeover Montgomery 3 moved to the Silver Spring Civic Building on Thursday, May 5 where attendees were welcomed with opening remarks from Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen, Montgomery Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson and National Center for Smart Growth Executive Director Gerrit Knaap. Attendees also heard a plenary presentation from Stefanos Polyzoides, of the Pasadena, California-based firm Moule and Polyzoides. Polyzoides spoke about design principles of livable suburbs, specifically the missing middle densities in American architecture and urbanism.
On Friday, May 6 conference attendees enjoyed a lunchtime presentation from Wes Guckert, of The Traffic Group, and Adam Ducker, of RCLCO, titled “A Roadmap for the Future: Planning for Driverless Vehicles.” The presentation examined how autonomous vehicles will become a reality within the next few decades to transform the infrastructure of cities and suburbs. The panelists examined the implications of self-driving cars for planning and real estate, and the potential impact of driverless vehicles on car ownership, transit, parking, roads, commuting patterns and development.
“This agency and our county have had a reputation over the decades for forward-thinking planning, and I know that Gwen Wright and I both feel a sense of responsibility to make sure that we live up to that reputation,” Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson said. “This conference is part of our efforts to make sure that people in the planning profession and people in related disciplines are not only looking to Montgomery County, but working with us collaboratively to develop the next generation of ideas for the profession.”
To view the conference agenda and to learn more about the presenters, visit the Makeover Montgomery 3 website. Recorded sessions will be available online.