Proposals are due on December 15 for three-day Silver Spring conference that will focus on healthy, smart, inclusive and competitive communities
Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is seeking presentation proposals for its conference Makeover Montgomery 4: Healthy, Smart, Inclusive and Competitive Communities, co-sponsored with the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth. The call for session proposals is now open and will close on December 15, 2017.
Submit a presentation to the MM4 Conference
The conference will be held from May 9 through May 11, 2018 in College Park and Silver Spring, MD. It will bring together planners, architects, developers, real estate professionals, economists, social scientists, ecologists and others to discuss cutting-edge ideas for transforming the suburbs.
The deadline for submitting presentation proposals online is December 15, 2017 at 5 p.m. The selected presenters will take part in sessions to be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, MD) on May 10 and 11, 2018. Assistance with travel-related expenses may be available for out-of-town speakers.
Presentations should focus on innovative planning and policy tools, and strategies that can help transform our suburbs into exciting, attractive and sustainable communities. Multiple session tracks will attract a diverse audience that includes practitioners, academics and interested community members from the DC area and across the nation. Conference themes and suggested topics include the following:
Competitive Communities
How must American suburbs change to be competitive in tomorrow’s economy? This track will tackle issues related to developing a diverse, educated and sustainable workforce, as well as other strategies for economic development and job growth. Topics include workplace innovations, mixed-use strategies and building the creative culture necessary to succeed in emerging markets.
Healthy Communities
What can suburban communities do to encourage active lifestyles for their residents? Advancing state-of-the-art approaches to increase walkability, reduce the stress of cycling and enhance recreation opportunities, this track will identify ways to create energized and engaging public spaces for healthier communities. Additional track topics could include access to healthy food and innovative concepts like park prescriptions, which partner parks departments with health insurers and medical doctors to encourage healthy living through exercise and outdoor activities.
Inclusive Communities
How can our increasingly diverse suburban communities promote social justice and equity for all? This track highlights efforts to inspire and educate community leaders to tackle issues of environmental justice, advance opportunities for affordable housing and uphold tenant rights.
Smart Communities
How will advancements in technology improve public services, change how our communities function and impact growth patterns? This track will address the planning-related impacts of big data and crowd-sourcing analytics, implementation of data sensors and smart technologies, and increased use of drones. Additional topics include the integration of autonomous vehicles and the role of technology incubators.
Makeover Montgomery 4 is being organized through a partnership between the Montgomery County Planning Department and National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. The 2018 event follows similar conferences held in 2016, 2014 and 2011 by the Montgomery County Planning Department and University of Maryland.
View the recap video from the 2016 Makeover Montgomery event.
Please visit www.makeovermontgomery4.com for more information.
Questions? Please contact Jason Sartori at Jason.Sartori@montgomeryplanning.org.
Montgomery County Planning Department
The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, aims to improve quality of life by conserving and enhancing the natural and built environment for current and future generations. The Planning Department creates great communities by developing master plans, reviewing applications for development and analyzing various types of information to help public officials plan for Montgomery County’s future. The Department comprises 140 staff members and provides recommendations, information, analysis and services to the Montgomery County Planning Board, the County Council, the County Executive, other government agencies and the general public. Visit www.montgomeryplanning.org.
About the University of Maryland Center for Smart Growth
The National Center for Smart Growth is a non-partisan center for research and leadership training on smart growth and related land use issues in Maryland, in metropolitan regions around the nation, and in Asia and Europe. Located at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, just eight miles from Washington, D.C., the National Center for Smart Growth was founded in 2000 as a cooperative venture of four University of Maryland schools: Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Public Policy, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Engineering.