What do you want Silver Spring to be like?
- The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), in partnership with the office of County Councilmember Hans Riemer, Silver Spring Urban District, Silver Spring Regional Center and the local community, hosted a series of mini (two-hour) design workshops in fall 2014 that focused on placemaking strategies for Downtown Silver Spring.
- The workshops explored creative ways to improve civic spaces at three locations – the Transit Center, Ripley District and Metro Plaza - as well as long-term strategies for implementing these upgrades. Public participation in all three workshops helped to generate dynamic and innovative ideas for providing temporary and permanent uses for community spaces that engage a broad spectrum of people.
- Read the full Silver Spring Placemaking Workbook »
What is placemaking?
Placemaking is a people-centered approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Put simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover needs and aspirations. This information is then used to create a common vision for that place. The vision can evolve quickly into an implementation strategy, beginning with small-scale, do-able improvements that can immediately bring benefits to public spaces and the people who use them.
The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), in partnership with the office of Councilmember Hans Riemer, and the Silver Spring Urban District will be hosting a series of mini design workshops focused on placemaking strategies for Downtown Silver Spring. The current Silver Spring Sector Plan was last updated in 2000. Since then, many aspects of the plan have been implemented which have transformed Downtown Silver Spring into a vibrant urban community. These workshops seek to explore creative ways to address present day placemaking opportunities at three specific locations described below as well as long term implementation strategies for Downtown Silver Spring. The public is invited to participate in these workshops. RSVPs are encouraged but not required.
Who to contact
If you have any questions about the mini-charettes, please contact Crystal Ruiz of Councilmember Riemer's office at 240-777-7964 or Crystal.Ruiz@montgomerycountymd.gov or Mike Bello with Montgomery Planning at Michael.bello@montgomeryplanning.org