Weekend links: Densification

Glenmont Sector Plan unveiled

Montgomery County has released at last

started the planning effort for its Glenmont Sector Plan. Officials envision a high-density, transit-oriented hub, but the land is split between many owners, making change difficult. (DCMud)

BRAC for the civies

A bill to create a civilian BRAC process is moving forward in the House. A commission identify which civilian properties can be sold or consolidated. (WBJ)

Big Chair relaunches, reopens

Historic Anacostia has its coffee shop back: Big Chair Café has reopened under new management, which wants to make it the neighborhood’s gathering place. (WAMU)

An encouraging but timid plan for the Mall

NPS’s conceptual plan for the Mall mostly has some elements which just tweaks around the edges and neglects its place as a park for residents, or so says the director

G. Martin Moeller, Jr., senior vice president and curator of the National Building Museum, in his capacity as a private citizen. (City Paper)

What to call gentrification by non-whites

Gentrification is largely class-based, but are the outcomes the same when gentrifiers aren’t white? (DCentric)

Fight for your right to cycle

Cyclists in Baltimore went ballistic when word leaked out that two college presidents may have quietly put the kibosh on a planned bike lane. Yet the lane isn’t dead yet, and activists are fighting to keep it alive. (Baltimore Brew)

On the polycentric metro region

Regions with more than one major city are more productive, likely due to shared load between governments. But advantages of large cities, like cultural richness, get lost when the population is divided. (Per Square Mile)

Towards healthier transportation

Designing a city around the car is a recipe for poor health, and a bill in the Washington State House would factor in public health effects when planning transportation. (Seattle Times)

And…

There are some tricks to getting the light to change as a cyclist. (Patch) … More details emerge on the I-395 air rights development, including LEED Platinum status. (CityBiz )… An interactive map of vacant buildings in Shaw. (EastShawDC)