Ager Road: Where Complete Streets Fell Short

This “Complete Street” is really a stroad in disguise—and that’s led to some deadly consequences.

Safe & Productive Streets, Top Story, NewsAsia MieleszkoApril 5, 2023Complete Streets, Pedestrian Safety, pedestrian safety, Crash Analysis Studio, Maryland, car crash, bike lanes, Safe and Productive Streets

Making the Most of Your Transportation Options—And Getting Your Neighbors Onboard

White Flint, MD, presents a great case study for how a community can begin shifting the conversation on its transportation infrastructure and development pattern.

Engagement, Edward Erfurt, Safe & Productive Streets, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMarch 17, 2023Safe and Productive Streets, Maryland, traditional development pattern, Development, development pattern, suburban development pattern, traffic congestion, community engagement

Baltimore Wants Permanent Parklets

Baltimore’s department of transportation is considering making the city’s temporary outdoor dining “parklets” a permanent fixture.

News, Top StoryAsia MieleszkoJanuary 19, 2023parklet, Maryland, Third Places, restaurants

The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Creating a Street Design Team

Strong Towns member and City Councilperson Danny Schaible is leading the way toward safer streets in his Maryland town.

Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, Top Story, Membership, Member Profiles, Success Story, Local Government, #SlowtheCarsStrong TownsJuly 28, 2022Podcast, The Bottom-Up Revolution, streets, Maryland

Does a Thrift Store Really Need a 40-Page Zoning Decision?

This document shows just how much our arcane land-use regulations prohibit neighborhoods from developing organically and un-self-consciously.

Zoning, Planning Profession, Top StoryAddison Del MastroMarch 15, 2022NIMBY, zoning, big box stores, business, local business, Addison Del Mastro, planning process, urban planning, Maryland

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 2

Our drive continues through the area once called “the ugliest place in Maryland.” When you look around, though, you can find the building blocks for an urban transformation in these suburbs.

Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, Top StoryAddison Del MastroOctober 29, 2021Addison Del Mastro, urbanism, Maryland, Washington DC, photos, neighborhood, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, traditional development pattern

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 1

Let’s take a drive down Rockville Pike, a major thoroughfare near DC. What kinds of development patterns will we find as we pass through each ring of suburbia?

Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, Top StoryAddison Del MastroOctober 28, 2021Addison Del Mastro, urbanism, Maryland, Washington DC, photos, neighborhood, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, traditional development pattern

The Taco Truck and the Thrift Store

We glorify our country’s rough-and-tumble entrepreneurial history, yet we often look down on people who embody it today, and on the commercial landscapes that result.

#ChaoticButSmart, Big Box Stores, Neighborhoods, Race, Top StoryAddison Del MastroAugust 17, 2021Addison Del Mastro, retail, Maryland, Washington DC, big box stores, poor neighborhoods, Chaotic but Smart

How to Grow a Local Strong Towns Conversation

Making your community stronger is too big a job for one person to do alone. Here’s how one Strong Towns member connected with likeminded people in his own city…and some practical steps on how you can do the same.

Strong America Tour, Strong Towns Book, Top StoryAlex PlineNovember 14, 2019annapolis, Maryland, cycling, Strong America Book, Strong America Tour, Strong Towns, Alex Pline

From New Deal Utopia to Strong Town

A “green belt” suburb with its roots in the New Deal faces pressures associated with conventional, auto-oriented development. How should residents approach decision-making so that the town’s future is as rich as its past?

Strong America Tour, Top StoryJeff LemieuxOctober 22, 2019Strong America Book, Strong America, Strong America Tour, Greenbelt, cooperatives, Maryland, suburbs

Ellicott City's Flood Mitigation Plans Would Be a Disaster in Their Own Right

Like many small, historic cities, Ellicott City, Maryland is a resilient town that has always rebuilt and recovered after natural disasters. It would be a shame if it could not recover from a man-made one.

Urban DesignMary Catherine WalterSeptember 17, 2018history, flooding, Maryland, Traditional Main Street

It's Time to Break up Maryland's State Highway Administration

Maybe the best way to fight the state highway administration is to split it up.

Top Story, Transportation, Member PostJeff LemieuxApril 6, 2016Maryland, STROADS

Stop Building New Roads Until Old Ones Are Safe

A joint letter from six agencies to Maryland's Director of Transportation, encouraging the state to stop building new roads until it can guarantee that those roads will be safe for everyone.

#NoNewRoads, #SlowtheCars, Top StoryStrong TownsJanuary 29, 2016Maryland, pedestrian safety

Ask Strong Towns #'s 13, 14 & 15

Ask us a question; we'll find you an answer. This week we get caught up on some Ask Strong Towns questions including ones on stroad repair, traffic engineers and making cool maps.

Ask Strong TownsCharles MarohnMay 28, 2015Maryland, traffic engineering, STROADS, zoning

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