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This is part of a series of articles exploring the question, who owns the city and what it takes to run it. When I first came to the US and saw articles in planning magazines that showcased “planned communities” I wondered how communities could possibly not be planned. Soon I learned that the usual development and subdivision plans are not really masterplans and that to follow a "script" for something larger than a single development was usually the exception rather than the rule. traditional street in master-planned community like Roland Park, Baltimore (photo ArchPlan) As a direct result of the lack of planning, American real estate, development, planning and design professionals alike now consider “place-making”, community, sprawl control, synergies between various developments, and systems thinking for networks of mobility, recreation or preservation as high priority topics. Citizens who suffer from traffic congestion, lack of parks, trails and open spaces and good access

This been declared the age of cities with cities as places of innovation, experimentation and culture. The state of urban politics is another matter entirely. Most regions continue to view their central city  as a place of disarray, danger, corruption and poor management. "The city is a mess", say many suburbanites  from their polished vantage points in their manicured gated communities. This reflects an ambiguity that goes back to Thomas Jeffreson who called cities both, “corrupters of morals” and “beacons of culture”. Which is true? And why does it seem to be so difficult to run a city that so many residents dispair in their leaders?  All the world's problems and no resources On a cloudless September 11, 2015 Baltimore was once again in the news ( NYT ,  BBC ,): The African American Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake (SRB), once the youngest city council member ever, who along with State Attorney Marilyn Mosby had become the face of Baltimore in the national and internation

Three asset sales considered in Baltimore In Baltimore this summer, three asset sale debates surfaced all at once. The Mayor has a longstanding plan to sell at least three city-run parking garages to finance recreation centers. Council President Young has countered it with a proposal to sell the Hilton, the city-funded hotel meant to support the Baltimore Convention Center. Then there is debate about a more hidden asset, a 740-mile long underground conduit system for electric and communication cables. Lastly, the biggest and maybe stealthiest deal involves selling the city’s public housing to private buyers. Government versus free market? The subject of debate is neither new nor original. Cities around the world, acting more and more like asset managers and less as advocates of public interest, experiment with selling what previous generations assembled in order to ensure that the public is served, recognizing that private profit-centered interest may not do so. The assets vary, but th

Owings Mills is one of two Baltimore County "New Towns" conceived as early as 1972 to accommodate growth so that the county's northern rural areas can be protected. Owings Mills is connected to Baltimore City via a freeway and a subway line running in the outer area in the median of the freeway. The train ride is 20 minutes. By car it can take significantly longer, especially  during rush hour . The Owings Mills area continues to grow. With about 160,000 residents living in the 5 mile orbit of the train station and about 65,000 work places, this would be one Maryland's largest towns if it were incorporated or really function as a town. This article discusses the prospect for becoming a town and having a town center.  Rather stealthily the much discussed Owings Mills "town center" and transit oriented development (TOD) is taking shape behind the two massive 3,000 vehicle garages which have been the most visible parts from I-795 forming the backdrop of the Met