Columbia Town Center moving forward

After several changes of ownership and bankruptcy of one of the owners, plans are finally moving forward for the development of an urban town center for Columbia, Maryland, a well-known 1960s suburban "new town." The initial $100 million project involves 380 apartments, ground floor retail, and a public promenade. Orchard Development, Kettler, and Howard Hughes Corp. are the developers, and the designer is Design Collective of Baltimore, which won a Charter Award in 2006 for the project. Overall, 5,500 residences are approved for the town center. The project is briefly covered in the June issue — and we'll follow up with more reporting.

For more in-depth coverage: 

• Subscribe to Better! Cities & Towns to read all of the articles (print+online) on implementation of greener, stronger, cities and towns.

• See the June 2012 issue of Better! Cities & Towns.Topics: Michigan placemaking initiative, Affordable housing around transit, Unnoticed New Urbanism, Housing pressures in Massachusetts city, LA looks at displacement, Waiting for the recovery, Running bike-share, Homeownership and TND, Live-work planning, the Great Inversion, Freeway teardown, Columbia Town Center.

• Get New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide, packed with more than 800 informative photos, plans, tables, and other illustrations, this book is the best single guide to implementing better cities and towns.