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Home / News / Montgomery Planning wins two awards from the American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter for Thrive Montgomery 2050 equitable engagement efforts and for Planning Director Gwen Wright’s Leadership in Planning

Montgomery Planning wins two awards from the American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter for Thrive Montgomery 2050 equitable engagement efforts and for Planning Director Gwen Wright’s Leadership in Planning

Thrive cover (left), Gwen Wright (right)
Wheaton, MDMontgomery Planning, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), is honored to receive two awards from the American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter (APA-NCAC). The APA-NCAC’s jury of experts selected Montgomery Planning’s work on equitable engagement for Thrive Montgomery 2050, the update to the county’s General Plan, for the Leadership in Planning Award for Community Outreach and Engagement in Honor of Harold Foster and selected Montgomery Planning Director Gwen Wright for the Leadership in Planning Award for a Professional Planner in Honor of Frederick Gutheim.

“We are so honored to be recognized by experts in planning and engagement in the region for our excellent work on equitably engaging Montgomery County’s diverse community throughout the Thrive Montgomery 2050 process,” said Planning Director Gwen Wright. “I am also humbled to be recognized for my over 30 years in planning as I set my sights on retirement at the end of the year.”

Learn more about Gwen Wright’s Montgomery Planning career and accomplishments.

The awards will be presented at the 2022 APA-NCAC Annual Conference Awards Ceremony, taking place at the University of the District of Columbia Van Ness Campus on September 30, 2022. Learn more about the APA-NCAC Annual Chapter Conference.

About Thrive Montgomery 2050

Thrive Montgomery 2050 is a comprehensive update to the county’s General Plan. It is about addressing historic inequities, adapting to new realities, and shifting the way we think about how the county should grow. It is a long-range policy framework to help guide, over multiple decades, how Montgomery County should respond to future opportunities and challenges while maintaining its important assets. The draft plan includes community-informed and data-driven recommendations for land use, housing, transportation, environment, equity, design, arts and culture, parks and open spaces and the economy. A lot has changed in the county since the General Plan was originally approved in 1964. Thrive Montgomery 2050 will guide future growth in response to the demographic shifts, technological innovations, changing lifestyles and economic disruptions that have taken place in recent decades. The new General Plan will consider many issues framed by three pillars: economic health, environmental resilience, and equity.

About the American Planning Association National Capital Area Chapter (APA-NCAC)

APA-NCAC represents public and private sector planners, planning academics and students, elected officials, and citizen planners in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, Maryland. The chapter and its members, through their knowledge and experience in planning, help to shape communities and environments that are responsive to the needs and problems of society.