Regional and Urban Design Committee

The nation spent over thirteen billion dollars on school construction in 2013. In my area,  Baltimore City and Baltimore County combined have earmarked over 2.1 billion dollars on their ten year school construction programs. It would probably be no exaggeration to say that those type investments would make a difference to the built environment. To understand how much school systems are players in our metros consider this: Baltimore County schools alone transport 75,000 kids every day in their own buses, a ridership that 

Transportation instead of place

represents 1/3 of the public transit passengers of the entire MTA, buses and rail combined. With almost 30,000 employees the two Baltimore school systems (City and County) are by far the largest employer in Maryland, combined they operate over 350 buildings, the entire downtown of a mid-size city. Shouldn't these mega organizations be considered not only  highly important for education but also economic development, urban renewal and urban space?

Unfortunately, for all the public attention that public schools get, economic development, urban renewal and place-making aren't typically the topics of discussion. As a consequence, schools frequently undo places instead of making them, especially when

The nation spent over thirteen billion dollars on school construction in 2013. In my area,  Baltimore City and Baltimore County combined have earmarked over 2.1 billion dollars on their ten year school construction programs. It would probably be no exaggeration to say that those type investments would make a difference to the built environment. To understand how much school systems are players in our metros consider this: Baltimore County schools alone transport 75,000 kids every day in their own buses, a ridership that 

Transportation instead of place

represents 1/3 of the public transit passengers of the entire MTA, buses and rail combined. With almost 30,000 employees the two Baltimore school systems (City and County) are by far the largest employer in Maryland, combined they operate over 350 buildings, the entire downtown of a mid-size city. Shouldn't these mega organizations be considered not only  highly important for education but also economic development, urban renewal and urban space?

Unfortunately, for all the public attention that public schools get, economic development, urban renewal and place-making aren't typically the topics of discussion. As a consequence, schools frequently undo places instead of making them, especially when

The nation spent over thirteen billion dollars on school construction in 2013. In my area,  Baltimore City and Baltimore County combined have earmarked over 2.1 billion dollars on their ten year school construction programs. It would probably be no exaggeration to say that those type investments would make a difference to the built environment. To understand how much school systems are players in our metros consider this: Baltimore County schools alone transport 75,000 kids every day in their own buses, a ridership that 

Transportation instead of place

represents 1/3 of the public transit passengers of the entire MTA, buses and rail combined. With almost 30,000 employees the two Baltimore school systems (City and County) are by far the largest employer in Maryland, combined they operate over 350 buildings, the entire downtown of a mid-size city. Shouldn't these mega organizations be considered not only  highly important for education but also economic development, urban renewal and urban space?

Unfortunately, for all the public attention that public schools get, economic development, urban renewal and place-making aren't typically the topics of discussion. As a consequence, schools frequently undo places instead of making them, especially when