Giving Compass' Take:

•  Columbia Gateway is an exemplary case study for placemaking, (an initiative to transform community spaces), and much of its success derives from the commitment to making Columbia Gateway an innovation-district. 

• Should the community members be directly involved in these types of efforts to benefit the most from the outcomes? 

• Read about why we need to invest in transformative placemaking. 

As the demand for walkability and a lively public realm increases, suburban office and research parks around the country are facing increasing pressure to evolve. To compete, developers and landowners in these areas feel they must provide more amenities, as well as spaces and programming that encourage professional and social collaboration. But they often must overcome limited finances, legacy zoning, and other policies in the process.

This case study examines how one such office park in Columbia, Md. is implementing a plan to transform itself into a lively district that meets the changing needs of tenants and their workers.

The 920-acre site that eventually became Columbia Gateway has been a part of the vision for the planned community of Columbia, Md. since its inception. In 2015, Howard county executive Allan Kittleman announced his vision for Columbia Gateway to become an “innovation district”—a dense mixed-use transit-connected area where startups, anchor institutions, and research-intensive corporations cluster together and connect through community-oriented places and programs.

Columbia Gateway has invested in public and community spaces as a low-cost, high-impact way to begin nurturing the innovation district—before even breaking ground. In spring of 2017, the park launched a weekly food truck program, which drew 300 people to four food trucks at its inaugural event.

Today, the park offers food trucks at locations around the park every day of the week.

Read the full article about placemaking by Nate Storring and Charlotte Benz at Brookings