bestnightmare
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how's this for obscure places...whoever gets this is really cool.
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Guess the City 79
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bestnightmare
Cyburbian
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bturk said:
right on.
for those of you not familiar with Bethesda, it's a perfect example of what happens when you get a "perfect storm" of an affluent population, existing dining/nightlife, a booming economy, soaring real estate prices, a great location, and multiple forms of mass transit. this 'city' is not a city at all, but completely under the jurisdiction of suburban montgomery county, md. it's just about one mile from the d.c./md line, and 7 miles from downtown d.c.
could this be a model 'suburb of the future'?
bestnightmare
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Comparing New England to the South and Midwest (Jurisdiction-wise)
Maryland has three types of municipalities - cities, towns, and villeges, but they are relatively few and far between for a state of 5million. After Baltimore City (independent of any county) the next-largest municipality is Frederick, with slightly over 50,000. Really, though, there are other communities with more people, like Silver Spring, Columbia, Bethesda, Dundalk. None of these places are incorporated , Baltimore County, pop. ~750,000, does not have any incorporated municipalities, and Montgomery, the state's largest (<900,000) has just a handful of incorporated places that comprise a small fraction of the population.
So, Bethesda falls strictly under Montgomery County jurisdiction - police, fire, and schools are for the most part administered on a county-wide basis.
New England, on the other hand, uses a system in which every place within the region is within an incorporated town or city. Perhaps someone else can expound on the details of jurisdictional issues...
And the Midwest, plus I think PA and NJ, possibly NY, use a system of Townships and/or Boroughs (sp?) ...it's interesting to compare these types of administration and look at the results they've produced, planning-wise
bturk said:
Maryland has three types of municipalities - cities, towns, and villeges, but they are relatively few and far between for a state of 5million. After Baltimore City (independent of any county) the next-largest municipality is Frederick, with slightly over 50,000. Really, though, there are other communities with more people, like Silver Spring, Columbia, Bethesda, Dundalk. None of these places are incorporated , Baltimore County, pop. ~750,000, does not have any incorporated municipalities, and Montgomery, the state's largest (<900,000) has just a handful of incorporated places that comprise a small fraction of the population.
So, Bethesda falls strictly under Montgomery County jurisdiction - police, fire, and schools are for the most part administered on a county-wide basis.
New England, on the other hand, uses a system in which every place within the region is within an incorporated town or city. Perhaps someone else can expound on the details of jurisdictional issues...
And the Midwest, plus I think PA and NJ, possibly NY, use a system of Townships and/or Boroughs (sp?) ...it's interesting to compare these types of administration and look at the results they've produced, planning-wise
biscuit
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Re: Comparing New England to the South and Midwest (Jurisdiction-wise)
Bedlam.
Well, that might be an overstatement but IMO the PA system of Counties, Cities, Boroughs, and Townships is confusing and frustrating to say the least (At least it is to me, having worked in much more centralized systems before). You do have the benefit of "home-rule" however, there is often a major overlapping in services, everything becomes politicized and planning can be frustrating. This occures because each subdivision of government has it's own planning dept., often with no unifying body. The quality of development varies widely and the planning and economic development efforts of many cities and boroughs are severely undercut by the lack of cooperation with the surrounding townships.
Other PA planners agree or not? I know most of you have worked in or with local government here a good bit longer then I have.
bestnightmare said:
Bedlam.
Well, that might be an overstatement but IMO the PA system of Counties, Cities, Boroughs, and Townships is confusing and frustrating to say the least (At least it is to me, having worked in much more centralized systems before). You do have the benefit of "home-rule" however, there is often a major overlapping in services, everything becomes politicized and planning can be frustrating. This occures because each subdivision of government has it's own planning dept., often with no unifying body. The quality of development varies widely and the planning and economic development efforts of many cities and boroughs are severely undercut by the lack of cooperation with the surrounding townships.
Other PA planners agree or not? I know most of you have worked in or with local government here a good bit longer then I have.
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Mud Princess
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New York is a big "home rule" state, with counties, cities, towns, and villages. It can be very confusing. Many years ago, I had an internship at a non-profit organization in Mamaroneck, New York. I was completely befuddled by the fact that there was both a town hall AND a village hall... I could never seem to figure out which one I was supposed to go to for what.