Columbia, MD

[xzmattzx]

Here's a look at an interesting town or suburban area, depending on how you look at it. Columbia is regarded by some as the best planned community in the United States (other highly successful planned communities include Reston, VA, and Radburn, NJ). It is located about halfway between Baltimore and Washington DC. The idea behind Columbia was to create a planned city/suburb, that would not only provide jobs to keep people within the community, but would also mix people of different religions, races, and incomes. It was also designed to prevent cul-de-sacs and end roads, and have each part of the community connected to other parts of the community via roads or paths through parklands.

Columbia has ten Villages: Oakland Mills, Long Reach, Owen Brown, Kings Contrivance, Hickory Ridge, Town Center, Dorsey's Search, Wilde Lake, Harper's Choice, and River Hill. These villages are further divided into three or four neighborhoods each. The result are individual communities, which are closely tied together by the village they are in, and then the villages are tied together by the Town Center to form the Town of Columbia.

Developers began buying land for Columbia (more than 14,000 acres overall) in the early 1960's. The developers formed several different companies to buy the land, in order to prevent farmers from holding out on their property and forcing one big conglomerate to build around a single farm. Once the acquisitions were complete, the companies merged and revealed their plans for the area. Residents first started moving into Columbia in 1967.


Part of Columbia's skyline. Columbia calls their central business district the Town Center, like I believe many other suburban areas do.



A shopping plaza in the village of Oakland Mills modelled to look like a farm.



Some small offices off of Kilimanjaro Road in Oakland Mills. These offices are used by doctors, dentists, etc.



Looking down Stevens Forest Road. The neighborhood of Stevens Forest is centered around this road.



The Oakland Mills Interfaith Center. One way that planners wanted to get people to mix together was to put all of the churches into one building. This Interfaith Center has a Catholic Church, Methodist Church, and Synogoge among other things.



Some apartment buildings in Oakland Mills.



Another way to get people to mix together and move around in the town was to put unique town anemities in certain neighborhoods. The town ice skating rink is in Oakland Mills.



Some houses on Thunder Hill Road. The neighborhood of Thunder Hill is centered around this road.



Some modern apartment buildings near the Town Center. The downtown condo wave seems to have made it to Columbia.



The Columbia Mall in the middle of the Town Center, with a midrise in the background.



More new condos in the Town Center.



Symphony Woods, near the Meriweather Post Pavilion, where concerts are held.



Banneker Place, a townhouse complex in the village of Town Center.



Apartments in the village of Harper's Choice.



Houses on Hesperus Drive in the Harper's Choice neighborhood of Longfellow.



Townhouses on Morning Glory Court in Harper's Choice.



Apartments in the neighborhood of Bryant Woods in the village of Wilde Lake.



The Village Center for Wilde Lake includes the Swim Center, a large pool complex and tennis complex, complete with a big slide. Like the ice rink in Oakland Mills, the Swim Center was placed in the middle of the Village of Wilde Lake to get people to travel to different villages and mingle with other residents.



The Interfaith Center in the Village of Wilde Lake.



The intersection of Twin Rivers Road and Great Mountain Circle are the entrance to Bryant Woods, one of the neighborhoods in Wilde Lake. The neighborhoods of Faulkner Ridge and Running Brook are nearby.



Wilde Lake, located near the Town Center. This is the view from The Birches, a sub-neighborhood in the neighborhood of Running Brook. Across the lake is the neighborhood of Bryant Woods.



Looking at the Town Center from The Birches area of the Running Brook neighborhood.



There are plenty of walking paths between neighborhoods and villages to make it easier to walk or bike to certain places, rather than drive. This walkway is along Wilde Lake, and it goes from The Birches in the neighborhood of Running Brook directly to the neighborhood of Bryant Woods. Driving to Bryant Woods would be longer and farther, as it would require getting onto the main thorofare, driving through the Town Center, and then coming all the way back around to the other side of Wilde Lake.



A big house facing Wilde Lake in the neighborhood of Running Brook.



Looking past the bike path towards Wilde Lake and the neighborhood of Bryant Woods beyond that.



A rustic little cottage on Hyla Brook Road in The Birches area of Running Brook.



A house on Thunder Hill Road in the neighborhood of Thunder Hill.



Houses on Mellenbrook Road.



Houses on Thunder Hill Road.



More houses along Thunder Hill Road.




Columbia is one of the premier suburbs in the United States. I don't think Columbia is perfect; a couple problems I have with it are 1) the maze of roads that make driving through a section of Columbia very confusing, and 2) putting all of the churches into one nondescript building (churches look nice; why not let each religion build their own?). But Columbia has shown that there are many good qualities about it that draw people to it and make it one of the most desirable suburbs in the United States.

[BalWash]

Columbia is the most NIMBY riddled city I've ever encountered. They've shuned singificant development for years and it shows. The area looks like an outer suburb like Westminster or Fredrick when it should look more like Rockville or Towson.

Btw, I like that "Hesperus Road" in the neighborhood of Longfellow...are all the roads named after one of his works?

[StevenW]

it's pretty, but like BalWash said, it's, "an outer suburb".

[Evergrey]

Columbia represents everything that's wrong with America.

[Silver Springer]

Columbia will regret the path they've taken in the long-run. LOOK HOW RESIDENTIAL IT IS. WAAAY too much residential, imo.

Did you know that 95% of Columbia residents drive to work?

It is amazing that the wealthiest county in the state and third in the country (measured by median household income) is stupid enough not reap the benefits of their economic wealth.

THERE SHOULD BE ALOT MORE OFFICE DEVELOPMENT IN COLUMBIA TO CREATE JOBS SO THEIR RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE EVERYWHERE!!!

The NIMBY's are amazing aren't they? They don't want commercial growth but will complain about traffic. Don't they know that more job growth will mean people working where they live in the long run?

The surburban style development is crap too. Columbia should be a lot more dense with more highrises like Washingtonian in Gaithersburg.

When they're is too much supply and their housing stocks ages to nothing...all I have to say are two words...Montgomery Village (or Takoma Park).

I can't believe some people would say this is on the same level as Silver Spring, not even close.

[KGB89]

Hey! I see my neighborhood in there! Not much to look at, but nice pics all the same.

EDIT: Silver Springer, have you ever considered that fact that most Columbia residents don't want to see their county turn into an overbuilt, poorly layed out clusterfuck like Montgomery County?

The residential aspect isn't a problem in Columbia, nor is the lack of high-rises any concern. In fact Columbia is one of the few suburban areas in the country that was designed to have decent shopping centers, parks, and schools within a walkable distance of most of the houses. There is also a public bus system that runs all over the town, and between all the freeways and subdivision crap that have gone up in the last 20 years, there is a network of footpaths to help people (mostly kids and old folks nowadays) get around without the necessity of a car.

Besides, what good is more office space if nobody can walk to work anyway? I mean, outside of New York and the extreme inner core of some large cities where and when has that ever been possible?

[drewbwhite]

http://www.co.ho.md.us/DPZ/DPZDocs/C...VisionPlan.pdf

Here's a preliminary long-term plan for development in the Columbia Town Center.

The population density of Columbia is surprisingly high, but all the buildings are so introverted and hidden from the main roads it's hard to tell. With a considerably wealthy population of near 100,000 and a location father away from the two cities than other suburbs, you'd think Columbia would be ripe for some dense development in its downtown. If the NIMBYs get their way, with the town nearly built out the town will likely decay. Luckily, the county executive candidate who was more supportive of downtown growth won, and better public transportation was a big issue. Let's hope the will to encourage smart growth wins out over pressure from no growth folks, because Columbia should be a real town by now, not just a suburban bedroom community, and with BRAC coming literally just down the road at Fort Meade, managing sprawl is going to be very important in the near future.

[MuddyZehbra32]

heey check out that water slide in the swim center!

[Furiine]

I think Columbia has good intentions with the abundance of greenery and a community oriented atmosphere, but I also agree that you can't have a town be so artificial as to decide when it's "done" development. Time will naturally demand change, as neighborhoods stagnate and demographics shift. Residents of Columbia seem to like it, so I guess something is going right over there.

[BalWash]

Originally Posted by KGB89

Besides, what good is more office space if nobody can walk to work anyway? I mean, outside of New York and the extreme inner core of some large cities where and when has that ever been possible?

It's not fair to have high paying residents work in other areas and ware on their infrastructure while paying taxes in your jurisdiction. Having offices in your city is not only environmentally responsible (people should have to live in Columbia and drive all the way to work in DC or Baltimore), but it's also the fair thing to do. The horrible issues in DC and Baltimore over the past 50 years are a result of cities like Columbia who have become bedroom communities, with lower maintenance costs for their infrastructure. It's just not fair.

[urbanaturalist]

I think Columbia's forefathers were attempting a better living community, and had the right idea in some respects for that era. However, now it is time to up the ante. Columbia's geographic position between Baltimore and D.C. makes it a vital link in that rapidly growing area between the two cities.
There was a recent article about increasing tremendously vertical development in Columbia, I'll try and find it and post up here.

The proposed Green Line extenstention (Greenbelt metro stop) from D.C. to BWI airport will bypass Columbia to the east, and I perused somewhere that there is talk about creating a spur rail (heavy or light) line from Columbia to connect with the Green Line. The only way to facilitate smarter growth in Columbia is to get the rail connectiions to the larger cities in the regions, which would bring jobs, stores, and dense residential areas to the city.

Also, my own personal vision is to see a Red Line extenstion (Glenmont metro statiion stop) to Columbia. I see the Glenmont stop going east along Randolph Road to a stop in Colesville then slightly further east to a stop on Columbia Pike (Route 29) and then head north towards Columbia. It almost to easy to see something like this come to fruition.

Unfortunately, much of Maryland's new major transportation infrastrucutre funds are being gobbled up by the lukewarm ICC project. Investing in rail for Maryland definitely has a bette payoff.

[stepper77]

No offense if you live there and enjoy it, but, Columbia doesn't look very impressive to me. I'll admit I am only basing my opinion on the pictures shown since I have never been there and perhaps they don't do the city justice. But, to me, Columbia looks like any other dime a dozen suburb in America and I've seen much better examples of suburbs functioning in their own right as cities. It's great to see the city has a lot of walking and bike trails and it certainly is green. But, nothing that I saw appeared to me as being a truly "walkable community". In fact the wide roads and sprawling parking lots are the exact opposite of "walkable" development. Are there any mixed use developments? Any small, local stores serving the individual neighborhoods?

We have plenty of walking and biking trails in the suburb I live in California (Dublin) that can take you all over the city. And we have a commuter train station (BART) around which they're building a dense, transit oriented development including apartments, condos, retail and commercial development. But, still, save a few progressive, if sometimes poorly executed ideas, Dublin is in no way anything other than a typical, auto-centric, sprawling, bedroom community.

[sdeclue]

Columbia would be a great place if they weren't so strict on height AND it was much more dense. The walking trails and the way they have preserved green life is great, but there isn't enough density. They are partially fixing that with incredible density just outside the Columbia but that needs to continue. I'm afraid only so much can be done as a lot of the land is already used up in the form of single family houses sitting on decent sized plots of land.

Columbia is a nice area, but it is not anything like a Bethesda or Silver Spring. It has a ton of potential, untapped potential, so who knows, but their residents certainly seem against tapping into it.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Columbia represents everything that's wrong with America.

huh??????

i take it that you've never been to columbia, MARYLAND. columbia, MISSOURI, columbia, SOUTH CAROLINA, or even columbia, MISSISSIPPI, but not columbia, MARYLAND.

[Billpa]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Columbia represents everything that's wrong with America.

I gotta say, Columbia may not be the greatest town in America but it certainly doesn't even come CLOSE to representing everything that's wrong with America.
There's a lot of crap in this country- cities like Camden and East St. Louis; poor, backward rural counties; ugly utility wire-laden strip-mall littered multi-lane roadways with large, garish signage assaulting sightlines at all turns...
Columbia seem very nice compared with some of that nonsense.

[*Sweetkisses*]

It's nice, but I've seen many suburbs that look just like it. It's nothing special.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by KGB89

Hey! I see my neighborhood in there! Not much to look at, but nice pics all the same.

EDIT: Silver Springer, have you ever considered that fact that most Columbia residents don't want to see their county turn into an overbuilt, poorly layed out clusterfuck like Montgomery County?

The residential aspect isn't a problem in Columbia, nor is the lack of high-rises any concern. In fact Columbia is one of the few suburban areas in the country that was designed to have decent shopping centers, parks, and schools within a walkable distance of most of the houses. There is also a public bus system that runs all over the town, and between all the freeways and subdivision crap that have gone up in the last 20 years, there is a network of footpaths to help people (mostly kids and old folks nowadays) get around without the necessity of a car.

Besides, what good is more office space if nobody can walk to work anyway? I mean, outside of New York and the extreme inner core of some large cities where and when has that ever been possible?

"Clusterfuck" is where a lot of Howard County residents go to work to pay for their big fat suburban McMansions. "Clusterfuck" clusters and is great because of it. "Clusterfuck" is efficient and didn't build on any piece of bare land we could find just because. "Clusterfuck" is the ecomonic engine of the entire state.

People never learn is story of Howard County, you're simply a bedroom community, what is so special about that? THERE IS WAY TO MUCH RESIDENTIAL IN HOWARD PERIOD. Why don't you balance it out with some office development? Do you really think your way of living is sustainable? Your housing stock will get old and you know how hard it is to replace it once it is built, especially in a NIMBYastic place like Howard. When the fad that is Columbia is over what will you have to show for it? A Mall (which are a dying breed) and some houses. Woopti Doo.

Once all the housing gets old and the values drop, mark my words, THE CRIME WILL COME RUSHING IN! It happened to the NIMBYs in Takoma Park, It's happening to Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village and it will happen to Columbia. Unless you're the ultra rich like Potomac then it will be inevitable UNLESS you create a true mixed use environment. Office buildings may be abandoned or vacant but they rarely ever go into the deep declines of a residential neighborhood.

It's amazing that Howard is one of the smallest counties in the state but has possibly the worst sprawl and inefficient use of land. You wasted it all on single family detached homes LOL! Good Job! Do you enjoy sitting on Route 29 for hours as you enter Silver Spring in Montgomery?

Every characteristic you've mentioned about Columbia is NOTHING SPECIAL, buses and parks can be found in any suburb in the world. I mean what do you do there besides go the mall? Do you really enjoy driving so far away to work?

Columbia is already showing it's age, Howard County better wake up before it is too late. What a waste!

[vivo]

Originally Posted by Silver Springer

"Clusterfuck" is where a lot of Howard County residents go to work to pay for their big fat suburban McMansions. "Clusterfuck" clusters and is great because of it. "Clusterfuck" is efficient and didn't build on any piece of bare land we could find just because. "Clusterfuck" is the ecomonic engine of the entire state.

People never learn is story of Howard County, you're simply a bedroom community, what is so special about that? THERE IS WAY TO MUCH RESIDENTIAL IN HOWARD PERIOD. Why don't you balance it out with some office development? Do you really think your way of living is sustainable? Your housing stock will get old and you know how hard it is to replace it once it is built, especially in a NIMBYastic place like Howard. When the fad that is Columbia is over what will you have to show for it? A Mall (which are a dying breed) and some houses. Woopti Doo.

Once all the housing gets old and the values drop, mark my words, THE CRIME WILL COME RUSHING IN! It happened to the NIMBYs in Takoma Park, It's happening to Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village and it will happen to Columbia. Unless you're the ultra rich like Potomac then it will be inevitable UNLESS you create a true mixed use environment. Office buildings may be abandoned or vacant but they rarely ever go into the deep declines of a residential neighborhood.

It's amazing that Howard is one of the smallest counties in the state but has possibly the worst sprawl and inefficient use of land. You wasted it all on single family detached homes LOL! Good Job! Do you enjoy sitting on Route 29 for hours as you enter Silver Spring in Montgomery?

Every characteristic you've mentioned about Columbia is NOTHING SPECIAL, buses and parks can be found in any suburb in the world. I mean what do you do there besides go the mall? Do you really enjoy driving so far away to work?

Columbia is already showing it's age, Howard County better wake up before it is too late. What a waste!

hey, hey that's not nice we have historic ellicott city at least. the small dtown in catonsville is not far from hist ec if u wanna count that. hmm i seriously wonder what the chances of getting rail here are in the next 20-25 yrs?

[pepperjack]

>"Clusterfuck" is efficient and didn't build on any piece of bare land we could find just because

You do realize Columbia is one of the most planned places on the planet? There isn't a single blade of grass in that place that wasn't supposed to be there. It's almost the exact opposite of what you describe above.

Read the wikipedia page on Columbia, at least:

At this unveiling, James Rouse described Columbia as a planned new city which would avoid the leap-frog and spot development threatening the county. The new city would be complete with jobs, schools, shopping, and medical services, and a range of housing choices. The property taxes from commercial development would cover the additional services with which housing would burden the county. The planning process for Columbia included not only planners, but also a convening of a panel of nationally recognized experts in the social sciences, known as the Work Group. Meeting for two days, twice a month, for half a year, the Work Group suggested innovations that the planners should try in education, recreation, religion, and health care, as well as ways of improving social interactions. Open classrooms, the interfaith centers, and the then-novel idea of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) with a group practice of doctors (the Columbia Medical Plan) sprang from these meetings.

[Silver Springer]

Originally Posted by pepperjack

>"Clusterfuck" is efficient and didn't build on any piece of bare land we could find just because

You do realize Columbia is one of the most planned places on the planet? There isn't a single blade of grass in that place that wasn't supposed to be there. It's almost the exact opposite of what you describe above.

Read the wikipedia page on Columbia, at least:

At this unveiling, James Rouse described Columbia as a planned new city which would avoid the leap-frog and spot development threatening the county. The new city would be complete with jobs, schools, shopping, and medical services, and a range of housing choices. The property taxes from commercial development would cover the additional services with which housing would burden the county. The planning process for Columbia included not only planners, but also a convening of a panel of nationally recognized experts in the social sciences, known as the Work Group. Meeting for two days, twice a month, for half a year, the Work Group suggested innovations that the planners should try in education, recreation, religion, and health care, as well as ways of improving social interactions. Open classrooms, the interfaith centers, and the then-novel idea of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) with a group practice of doctors (the Columbia Medical Plan) sprang from these meetings.

Planning does not equal efficiency. There are so many low rise structures and detached units with a limited amount of land in one of the smallest counties in the state. Columbia is residential centric which is also inefficient when people have to drive everywhere.

The planning wasn't very good, there was no long-term thinking of sustainablity and not being autodependent.

Like the Kentlands, these mega planned communities are so large that they defeat the purpose.