How Cars & Greed Turned the Suburbs Gray & What Can be Done to Green Them Again

This video stems from a talk prepared for the Leagues of Women Voters in Baltimore County and City in September, 2021. It shows how the demise of streetcars and the rise of the automobile hastened the development of the inner suburbs across the country, making them increasingly unlivable. The history of Baltimore County's inner suburbs is cited to help make this case.

I suggest that the creation of robust green networks is a solution to these livability challenges. A "whole system" approach is needed to create robust green networks. This means looking at ways to enhance greenways, trails, sidewalks, streets, waterways, utility corridors and the like to connect people to parks and commercial and institutional hubs.  Arlington County, VA, Hennepin County, MN, and Montgomery County, MD are places that have succeeded in creating robust green networks in their inner suburbs.  According to AARP's livability index, moreover, they are some of the most livable places in the United States today.  If these inner suburbs can do it, surely Baltimore County can also. But doing so will require some legal and policy shifts, which are briefly suggested.  The slides from the presentation are available here.