Welcome! Among other things, our goal is to offer a dynamic and invaluable source of substantive and timely information. Please take a look around, and come back often to read new content. We appreciate your interest. (Please contact us if you're interested in writing a guest blog entry.)
VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: What kind of solar power is best for me?
Interested in solar energy? Confused by the dizzying array of options and providers? On October 25, from 3:00 to 5:00pm,...
Climate Change Working Group releases position paper on energy and Frederick County
After eight months of work and six drafts, it is my privilege to introduce Achieving Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions...
Coping with Covid: An online market opportunity to build local food resiliency
Circumstances created by the Covid-19 virus quickly revealed frustrating weaknesses in our supply chains. Those seen in fresh foods are...
#Climate Stewards Pledge
We must walk more gently on the Earth. Households in the United States emit an average of 21.5 metric tons...
How should the City of Frederick accessorize?
When it comes to accessory dwelling units, the City of Frederick is playing catch-up. Numerous jurisdictions around the country have...
Smart Growth Maryland Announces New Smarter Growth Alliance for Howard County
Smart Growth Maryland is proud to have partnered with the Howard County Sierra Club and The People’s Voice, LLC to...
We Used to Just Call These “Houses”
We have a way in the modern world of rediscovering things that humans have always done but branding them as...
Malls to mixed-use centers and other opportunities
While hundreds of malls are declining, they are also being reused for all kinds of purposes—including walkable urban places in...
Thank you for making our Envision Autumn 2019 event a great success!
On Wednesday evening, September 11th, Envision Frederick County held its fourth almost-annual Envision fundraising dinner event at ThorpeWood — Envision...
Home Builders report shows housing is changing
The American housing industry is changing course—and this will transform neighborhoods and communities over time by providing more and different...
ENVISION ESSENTIALS Session IV Saturday (Local Government Day) and Session III Recap
Please take a few moments to read about this program. It might be just what you were looking for, even...
Making normal neighborhoods legal again
I've spent over two-thirds of my life so far living in anarchic environments where the rule of law did not...
ENVISION ESSENTIALS Session III: Environmental Issues in Frederick County
Please take a few moments to read about this new program. It might be just what you were looking for,...
A Duplex, a Triplex and a Fourplex can cut a block’s carbon impact 29%
The carbon savings from 'middle housing' are voluntary, self-financing and immense. So why are they illegal? To understand why housing...
ENVISION ESSENTIALS Session I Recap: Smart Growth: Land Use and Planning
Please take a few moments to read about this new program. Three out of the four 2019 sessions are still...
We Used to Do This Everywhere
I just got back from a few days in New Orleans, where I stayed—as most tourists to that city do—in...
Envision your Future
Dorothea attended Session I of Envision Essentials, and wrote the following blog entry on her Tiny Planet site. We are...
Why cities are the world’s best hope for climate action
Cities offer breakthrough potential for immediate and effective action on the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and a hotter world,...
ENVISION ESSENTIALS begins on Saturday, May 18th! Sign up!
Please take a few moments to read about this new program. It might be just what you were looking for,...
Climate Change and Monarch Butterflies
The headline in the April 12, Washington Post article on weather rang out: “Giant storm in Central U.S. has unleashed...
Our Beautiful Blanket of Life
Yesterday’s bike ride was one I've made many times – up Church Hill, right on Woodland Way and then a...
Pop Shop Becomes First Restaurant in Downtown Frederick to Partner With Key City Compost
To express their long-lasting commitment to making Downtown Frederick an even better place, The North Market Pop Shop has partnered...
Oxon Cove Land Swap Discussions Continue
While talks with Washington’s NFL team about building its next stadium at Oxon Cove National Park have ceased, the Hogan...
Envision Frederick County welcomes Barb Trader to our Board of Directors!
I am very pleased to announce the addition of Barb Trader to the Board of Directors of Envision Frederick County....
Three Major Problems with Parking Minimums
Parking minimums are the strange, out-dated, and totally unscientific law that's probably languishing in your city's zoning code. They sound...
Envision Speaker Series: ALICE in Frederick County, with Malcolm Furgol
Far more Frederick County households than you might imagine (roughly four of every ten) are living on the edge, and...
Connect with the Multi-faith Alliance of Climate Stewards of Frederick County
The Multi-faith Alliance of Climate Stewards (MACS) of Frederick County is made up of individuals and faith communities who are...
GREEN DRINKS! March 20: Vermicompost with Linda Norris
On Wednesday, March 20th, join us again, or for the first time, for an enjoyable social hour and an engaging...
Blockbuster year for monarchs, but what lies ahead?
I was at Shepherd University the other day talking to Susie Munnis, who had just returned from San Miguel de...
Good congestion, bad congestion
Our model for traffic congestion is flawed. We need to make the crucial distinction between good and bad congestion and...
Maryland should stop subsidizing pollution from incinerators
Several months ago, Frederick County broke ground on the Ballenger-McKinney Photovoltaic Solar Project — a 5-acre, 1.3-megawatt solar array. This...
Unsprawl: The Agricultural Reserve in Montgomery County, Maryland
Maryland’s Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve comprises 93,000 contiguous acres in the Washington, D.C. metro region set aside for farming and...
Smart Growth Maryland Director Appointed to City of Brunwick’s Preservation and Revitalization Committee
As a part of Smart Growth Maryland’s ongoing efforts to support community revitalization across the state, Kimberly Golden Brandt, the...
Letter about the Monocacy River Plan to elected officials in Frederick and Carroll counties
I sent the following email on Friday, February 15th, to the Frederick County Executive and County Council, and to the...
A Free Market for Parking
I had an interesting conversation with someone last week about the free market as it relates to parking requirements. I...