Smart Growth Maryland is proud to have partnered with the Howard County Sierra Club and The People’s Voice, LLC to create the Smarter Growth Alliance for Howard County, which brings together organizations focused on … [Read more...]
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 something trendy and a little alien. So it goes with the explosion of interest in "tiny houses" as an answer to … [Read more...]
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 communities lacking in this kind of environment. The retail industry … [Read more...]
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 choices in housing. A new report from the National … [Read more...]
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 prevail. It's a wonder I survived at all. You see, when I was born, my parents lived in a duplex, in a … [Read more...]
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 policy is climate policy, consider two city blocks with 18 … [Read more...]
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 the French Quarter. The name is actually a misnomer from the particular perspective of an urban planner: most of the … [Read more...]
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, according to a new book, The Urban Fix. The Urban Fix is the … [Read more...]