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Tag Archives: regional perspectives

Joe Nathanson: Walkable urban places

Recently, while working on an assignment in an office building in downtown Columbia, I was reminded how pedestrian-unfriendly this part of the planned new town can be. It is helpful to pay full attention to the traffic and to be fleet of foot to run across Little Patuxent Parkway to grab a sandwich. While Columbia’s villages were designed for children to be able to walk or bike safely to their schools, the downtown was designed primarily to accommodate the circulation and storage of automobiles.

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Joe Nathanson: How do we get our region out of gridlock?

Atlanta-area voters went to the polls Tuesday to determine whether they were willing to add another penny to their sales tax for 10 years to generate $8.5 billion for the region’s overburdened transportation network. The referendum was the outcome of ...

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Joe Nathanson: Next steps for Baltimore’s ‘next economy’

Periodically, various academics and think tank professionals have taken a look at the health of Baltimore’s economy. A study by the Washington-based Brookings Institution authored by Jennifer Vey is the latest, and it brings a refreshing new perspective to this ...

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Joe Nathanson: Counties face implementation of PlanMaryland

A recent meeting with Rich Josephson at the state planning department gave me a window into the next steps in Maryland’s long-running campaign to manage its land wisely. Josephson, as director of planning services, is the Maryland Department of Planning’s ...

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Joe Nathanson: Smarter cities make for better city living

You’ve been in this situation: You’re driving around in circles looking for parking in a crowded downtown, wasting time, wasting gas and testing your patience. What if you could pull to the side, check your smartphone and determine the location ...

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