Academic Year Project Started: 2017-2018

Creating Connections Between Environmental and Human Health and Messaging a Call to Pro-Environmental Action

The Montgomery County Department of Parks, and other environmentally-oriented organizations, have historically had a difficult time communicating the importance of environmental issues to the general public. A major reason is that much of this communication has promoted environmental protection for the intrinsic sake of the environment, and not for human well-being. As a result, people […]

Upper Marlboro Community Center Trail Implementation Plan

The Upper Marlboro Community Center offers a wide range of services for the surrounding community, but is currently totally isolated from the multimodal network. No dedicated bike or pedestrian routes connects it to surrounding communities. Despite the lack of pedestrian infrastructure, community members still walk to and from the Community Center, along the edge of […]

Selecting A Second Site for Prince George’s County Animal Shelter

Our PALS project team worked with Prince Georgeâ€™s County Animal Control to identify potential sites for a second animal shelter. After reading a 2016 feasibility study and meeting with Chief Rodney Taylor and other stakeholders, our team developed a hierarchy of site selection criteria. These included zoning, parcel size, transit access, and more. We then […]

Farm to Fork: Opportunities and Constraints

Our team devised a three-stage system to implement a food distribution network to serve Anne Arundel County clients including private retailers, public institutions such as schools and hospitals, and eventually privately-owned restaurants. The goal is to maximize the supply of locally sourced produce for customers as the demand for local food continues to rise. This […]

Locust Grove Nature Center

Today Locust Grove Nature Center is housed in a small, aging retrofit facility adapted from a toboggan run that opened its doors in 1972, operating for a few short years before shuttering in 1977. The current demand for year-round programming and multi-functional event space far exceeds Locust Groveâ€™s capacity. The location of the nature center […]

Master Plan for the Arlington Echo Campsite

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Parks & Open Space: A Demand & Supply Analysis of Existing Public and Private Open Space in Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County Planningâ€™s Energized Public Spaces Functional Master Plan (EPS FMP), which focused primarily on the Silver Spring Central Business District, inventoried the supply of existing parks and open spaces, estimated the demand for parks and open space based on the presence of population and jobs, and identified areas where service gaps exist. The Fall […]

Exploring and Expanding Park Use Through Interactive Game Apps

This report compiles ways to use technology, specifically a scavenger hunt game, to bring new audiences to Montgomery County parks, in an effort to promote increased engagement and longer park visits. This project capitalizes on the popularity of the interactive game apps and uses a similar game to entice people into the parks and to […]

Economic Impacts of Montgomery County’s Parks

This projectâ€™s goal is to analyze how the presence and quality of local parks and open spaces affects adjacent property values and the local economy, and to gauge the public perception of parks in Montgomery County to better understand public opinion and concerns surrounding parks. This project will also recommend how those concerns can be […]

Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse in Montgomery County Parks

Stormwater management is a vital practice that allows urban areas to mitigate negative water quality impacts associated with urban development. The Montgomery County Department of Parks seeks to increase their reuse of stormwater as part of its commitment to furthering sustainability practices within the parks system and to minimize their impact on the environment. The […]

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