Posts by Cavan Wilk — Guest Contributor
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White Flint master plan: it’s all about incentives
Montgomery County is continuing its planning process to retrofit the area surrounding the White Flint Metro into a vibrant livable, walkable community. The current owners of the land surrounding the Metro station are on board with the plan. They are also contributing their Keep reading…
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Hear from the District 4 candidates
The Sierra Club of Montgomery County and the Action Committee for Transit (ACT) are cosponsoring a forum for District 4 candidates for Montgomery County Council. The forum will raise voters’ awareness of issues and canddiates’ opinions on transportation, land use, livable/walkable communities, climate change, habitat protection/restoration, and other key… Keep reading…
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The silver lining of the real estate bust
According to the Washington Post, development has come to a halt downtown. This phenomenon is not unique to our region. Nearly any real estate project not financed before September is now frozen. While a dearth of new construction could hurt municipal budgets, it also has a large potential upside. As a nation, we now have the opportunity to plan and focus our growth, in preparation… Keep reading…
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It takes a village: why walkable urbanism is good for adolescents
The March edition of GQ features a 12-year-old budding food critic, David Fishman of New York, NY. One of Fishman’s favorite activities is to visit local restaurants and write critiques. Due to his age, his parents limit him to restaurants within walking distance in his Upper West Side neighborhood. While such parental ground rules would amount to house arrest for children… Keep reading…
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How to create a successful urban stadium
DC United intends to build a new 24,000 seat stadium in Prince George’s County. This is a golden opportunity for our region to gain another vibrant, regional, walkable, urban, Metro-adjacent, transit-oriented development. Except on game days, stadiums have been centers of un-activity for the past sixty years. However, they don’t need to be like that… Keep reading…
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Want to fight Metro cuts? Build a coalition
Yesterday, a new coalition of transit riders, environmental, and labor groups calling themselves “Transit First” organized to oppose cuts in WMATA funding and service. The groups that make up Transit First work on the broad and interrelated issues of mass transit, Smart Growth, the environment, and labor. The coalition includes the Action Committee… Keep reading…
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Doing the same thing over again and expecting different results
Last week, the Washington Post reported that a Prince William County subdivision has the longest average commute in the nation. The piece factually describes the routines of the residents as they cope with such a long commute. However, it unintentionally ends up being a scathing commentary on the suburban living arrangement. Keep reading…
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Poplar Point and the Case of the Too-Large Park
The District has been fortunate to receive a “once in a lifetime” gift from the federal government to build a whole new neighborhood on empty, unused land. Poplar Point lies just across the Anacostia River from the Nationals ballpark and a ten minute walk from the Anacostia Metro. A successful Poplar Point development, possibly with a soccer stadium for DC United, would… Keep reading…
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What’s old is new on the Q2
WMATA recently announced a study for improving the Q2 Metrobus line, which runs from Silver Spring to Shady Grove via Wheaton and Rockville. The Q2 is one of the most popular routes in the entire Metrobus system with an average weekday ridership of 10,200, and is one of WMATA’s proposed priority bus corridors (large PDF). There’s even room on the shoulders of Viers Mill… Keep reading…
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JHU Life Sciences Center: show me the transit!
Johns Hopkins University wants to expand and update its Shady Grove Life Sciences Center to meet the needs of the 21st Century. JHU owns the 100-acre Belward Farm in West Gaithersburg, and Montgomery County is developing a plan for the area. It aims to change the campus from its current form as a “sprawling, single-use, auto-oriented area” to a place that can be “more… Keep reading…