Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, Md. by betterDCregion licensed under Creative Commons.

Montgomery County’s 1964 Wedges and Corridors plan was visionary by the standards of its time and deeply flawed by current standards. It was visionary because it channeled growth along key corridors, mainly along the Red Line, leaving significant land free from development, including the beloved Agricultural Reserve. It was flawed because it allowed much of the county to be zoned for single family houses, encouraged largely car-dependent development, and allowed, or even encouraged, economic and racial segregation.

Last week, the Montgomery County Council passed Thrive Montgomery 2050 (or Thrive 2050 for short), a new general plan intended to alleviate the shortcomings of the Wedges and Corridors plan and guide the county for the next 30 years. As the plan puts it, “The establishment of the residential wedge consigned more than one-third of the County to zoning exclusively for single family homes, leaving many of our neighborhoods reliant on automobiles and disconnected from many amenities and services.”

In addition, the legacy not just of Wedges and Corridors but of the entire post-World-War II philosophy of developments is “separation of neighborhoods along lines defined by race and income,” according to Thrive Montgomery. The plan announces three major objectives: “economic competitiveness, racial and social equity, and environmental sustainability.”

“Thrive affirms and deepens the vision that our County Council has embraced over the past decade of master plans and policy work - locating new development around transit to create walkable communities with great amenities,” Montgomery Councilmember Hans Riemer, who chairs the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development Committee stated in a recent press release about the plan. “Thrive outlines strategies to promote affordability, social and racial equity and economic competitiveness, while reducing climate emissions.”

The plan passed Oct. 25 with controversy, amid booing by some county residents worried that it would lead to overcrowded roads and schools and harm the character of neighborhoods. County Executive Marc Elrich notably opposed it, arguing that community outreach was insufficient, particularly regarding the equity aspect. Ironically, Thrive Montgomery passed shortly after the entire planning board, responsible for putting together the plan, resigned in an unrelated scandal.

The 411 on Thrive 2050

Thrive Montgomery is multifaceted, but its most controversial element is to encourage rezoning to allow more multifamily units, particularly near transit. This is largely “missing middle” housing, more than single-family but less than large apartment complexes—anything from duplexes to townhouses. Adding such units will alleviate the fact that Montgomery County, along with the rest of the region, is not generating enough housing for the rising population.

Although the zoning changes arouse the most opposition, this is “just one small part of a much bigger picture,” said Dan Reed*, Greater Greater Washington’s regional policy director. Reed mentioned the ability to “access daily needs without driving,” additional parks and public spaces, and increased transit as among the changes “worth celebrating.”

The larger vision is to create complete transit-oriented development (TOD) that will cluster mixed, walkable neighborhoods around transit hubs. Put in more cutting-edge terms, this means “complete communities” and “15-minute living,” in which groceries, recreation, schools, transit, green spaces and other amenities are all within 15 minutes of residents without using a car. If it works, this denser development will simultaneously help alleviate the housing crisis, lessen driving and congestion, facilitate neighborhoods with mixed income levels and backgrounds, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve local air quality.

Creating a complete, multi-modal street grid is also critical to the plan, as is discontinuing the expansion of multi-lane car-centric roads and eliminating parking minimums. The idea is to create public spaces for a range of uses beyond the automobile, including separated bike lanes and comfortable walking spaces.

Also central to Thrive Montgomery is the desire to spur economic growth by providing a diverse, talented workforce, easy access to transportation, and by spurring environmentally healthy land use, all of which will draw new businesses to the area. Reed believes that growth, inspired by livability, is one necessary precondition for a more equitable county; “To create equity when you’re not having economic growth essentially requires wealthy people to give things up. They will not.” So, to provide equity, Reed says, “we do need economic growth, we need a bigger tax base.”

As the plan puts it, although Montgomery County has an affluent, highly educated population, “The County’s economic performance has been mixed at best since the Great Recession of 2008.” Indeed, the number of jobs, along with household income, is growing more slowly than the rest of the region and young adults are coming in sparser numbers. So, the county needs to “attract and retain more young adults” in peak earning years to support a growing retired population.

A graphic showing the percentage of commuters that drive alone, by jurisdiction. Image from Thrive 2050 plan.

Thrive Montgomery is also intended to create great environmental benefits. “Two of the main things that local government has direct control over are land use and transportation,” said Reed, “and those are two of the leading drivers of vehicle emissions.” As the plan explains, “In 2018, 42 percent of the County’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were generated by the transportation sector,” so it is critical to provide transportation options and create neighborhoods where driving is not mandatory. With less driving comes less greenhouse gas emission. In addition, the plan calls for extensive expansion of parks, which sequester greenhouse gases, clean the air, and lessen stormwater runoff, all while encouraging healthy living.

Thrive Montgomery also seeks to alleviate an east-west split between jobs and residences that has long afflicted the entire Washington region. As the plan puts it, a 1993 amendment to Wedges and Corridors, focusing on the I-270 corridor “exacerbated this problem by discouraging growth in the East County, focusing public and private investment to the west.” Reed, who grew up in east county, has life experiences with this problem. Development “was heavily focused on development on the western side of the county,” and “removed a lot of east county communities from” the corridors, including most jobs and shopping. Reed explained that his parents, who live in east county, do most of their shopping in Howard County.

Silver Spring Transit Center by BeyondDC licensed under Creative Commons.

Thrive and TOD

Although critics charge that the Thrive planning process lacked widespread input regarding racial equity, Reed counters that “compared to previous efforts, Thrive has gone above and beyond in terms of planning for a more equitable future,” with hundreds of community meetings, “material published in eight different languages,” and “intentional efforts to reach out to” immigrants, renters, and other groups.

And, while some communities believe that TOD brings gentrification, Reed argues that “there is nothing inherently inequitable about making it easier for people to live or access daily needs near transit. It actually makes communities more accessible to people who can’t afford a car.” In other words, TOD done with concern for existing residents, and with a strong affordable housing component (known as equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD), acts as a vehicle for equity.

As a general plan, Thrive Montgomery is merely an overview that needs much more work. Its provisions will have to be implemented into future master plans and other regulations. The plan is also intended to be flexible to provide for an uncertain and ever-shifting future. As we head deeper into a century of political and social strife, growing income inequality, and environmental disaster, Thrive 2050 just might provide a roadmap for surviving, and even thriving.

*Disclaimer: Dan Reed, GGWash’s regional policy director, is quoted in this piece. Per our editorial policy, Mr. Reed has no editorial input.

Ethan Goffman is an environmental and transit writer. A part-time teacher at Montgomery College, Ethan lives in Rockville, Maryland. He is the author of "Dreamscapes" (UnCollected Press), a collection of flash fiction, and two volumes of poetry, "I Garden Weeds" (Cyberwit) and "Words for Things Left Unsaid" (Kelsay Books).