National Center for Smart Growth (at the University of Maryland)

I should also mention that this special issue was guest edited by NCSG Faculty member @arielbphd.bsky.social who did an awesome job working with PRRAC to get a great group of essays together.

April 2025 Newsletter

We are excited to get our first quarterly newsletter out! In it we highlight upcoming events in the center, new research and more! ncsg-newsletter.beehiiv.com/p/april-2025...

Looking for a reason to celebrate? Mark your calendars for the PALS (Partnership for Action Learning and Sustainability) Showcase open house to see what UMD Students + Community Partners have been doing this year May 8th, 11:30-2:00 arch.umd.edu/events/pals-...

Looking for a reason to celebrate? Mark your calendars for the PALS (Partnership for Action Learning and Sustainability) Showcase open house to see what UMD Students + Community Partners have been doing this year May 8th, 11:30-2:00 arch.umd.edu/events/pals-...

UMD horticulture class project aims to beautify Metro stations with native plants The students are creating a glossary of plants and example plantings based on different Metro station environments.

One of our Partnership for Action Learning and Sustainability (PALS) courses brought together Plant Sciences Students at UMD and @wmata.com to help develop plans for planting around stations dbknews.com/2025/03/26/u...

On a @umdsmartgrowth.bsky.social lunch field trip for riverdalerestautantweek.org to Maria Bonita Restaurant. @plcc.bsky.social

Over the past 18 months of directing @umdsmartgrowth.bsky.social I've gotten to know more and more amazing Purple Line businesses. Supporting businesses like these is part of an anti-displacement agenda. Related, it's Riverdale Restaurant Week riverdalerestaurantweek.org

The Purple Line Corridor Coalition was one of the reasons I was excited about running NCSG. The commitment to coalition building, meaningful engagement in policy & practice and the intentional base in lived experience is powerful and is changing the conversation in MD. Please drop in & support us.

It's giving day at UMD. Did you know that you can donate directly to support the work of the Purple Line Corridor Coalition's work to prevent displacement along the new transit corridor @plcc.bsky.social ? giving.umd.edu/giving/fund....

Suburban Dreams or Gentrification Nightmares? The Purple Line's Big Impact

A new piece from NCSG Assoc. Dir. @nick-finio.bsky.social on anticipatory effects of the Purple Line Construction in Maryland. It illustrates a clear need for ongoing partnership between multi-sector partnerships through groups like @plcc.bsky.social journalper.substack.com/p/suburban-d...

Op-Ed: Equitable Transportation Research Makes America Great. So Why Is the Trump Admin Hollowing It Out? — Streetsblog USA Allowing political considerations to hollow out and cancel ongoing research is not only harmful to whatever domain the administration deems a threat, but it sets an alarming precedent for research at ...

Op-Ed: Equitable Transportation Research Makes America Great from @alexkarner.bsky.social and others: usa.streetsblog.org/2025/02/12/o...

Great work out of @umdsmartgrowth.bsky.social's Small Business Anti-Displacement Network - they have been working with communities across the country to better understand ways to keep preserve businesses that are often keepers of culture and gathering spaces.

Trump’s mass deportations could hit Maryland economy, experts warn Throughout his campaign for a second term, President-elect Donald Trump promised his administration would carry out the largest mass deportation operation in American history. Experts say this move…

NCSG Fac. & SBAN Dir. Willow Lung-Amam on the impact of deportations in MD communities "What I fear for communities like Langley Park are not just the level of deportations…but the larger sense that that community doesn’t matter or that the people in it don’t matter" cnsmaryland.org/2024/12/03/t...

NCSG Faculty member @arielbphd.bsky.social offers 4 key lessons on the ways education and community development can be mutually reinforcing from work in Baltimore City. Tl;DR: build shared goals, acknowledge the past, build deep partnerships & make anti-displacement housing policy central.

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Assoc. Dir. Nick Finio's new paper examines costs & benefits of TOD in MD. Evidence suggests that the benefits of the Purple Line may be imbalanced against costs. Coalitions pushing for TOD must be more inclusive of equity & affordable housing. @plcc.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Parking cashout! Speaking of parking, did you know that DC requires employers to offer alternatives to a paid parking space? Not clear the Bowser administration is ensuring that employers know about reporting on compliance by 1/15/25. Look how easy the portal is! Make sure your boss knows about it.

We're publishing brief observations on repair from dozens of leading public scholars, practitioners, and thinkers (with yet more to come!). Check out "Field Notes: Repair" on our website: placesjournal.org/series/field-notes-repair/.

Capping the AM w/a dynamic Blue-Purple panel moderated by Chelsea Allinger (ggwash) with Del. Jazz Lewis, Robert Goldman (MHP), Ramon Jacobson (LISC DC), Carlos Perozo (Long Branch business association) & Reemberto Rodriguez ( @umdsmartgrowth.bsky.social ). Asking how we start w/community for eTOD.

Excited to co-host Tracking Equity @umdsmartgrowth.bsky.social w/LISC DC, MHP & Wells Fargo. Sheila Somashekhar @plcc.bsky.social kicks us off with a lightening Ted talk

Graphic with a light rail train inviting people to an event. Logos for the co-hosts are included, along with date, time and location.

Please join us at The Anacostia Building for Tracking Equity with out co-hosts LISCDC, MHP and Wells Fargo where we'll discuss how coalitions are working in MD for equitable TOD. 11/19, 10-12. RSVP here: app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/...

$1.6M FTA Grant Aims to Support Communities Along Purple Line Route UMD-led Anti-Displacement Project to Boost Affordable Housing, Preserve Green Space and Cultural Heritage

Excited about this grant awarded to Purple Line Corridor Coalition focused on the development of an anti-displacement plan for affordable housing, business and culture along the Purple Line, which opens in 2027. today.umd.edu/1-6m-fta-gra...