Political and business leaders often refer to\u00a0Montgomery County as the “economic engine” of\u00a0Maryland. Interesting\u00a0words, “economic engine.”<\/p>\n
In the 1950s and 1960s, Montgomery County was transforming from farmland to suburbia. I doubt that any of my neighbors in those years imagined that the county would ever be called an economic engine.<\/p>\n
In 1950, the county population was 164,000. By 1970, population more than tripled, to 525,000.\u00a0People were moving to Montgomery County by the thousands because it was a good, safe place to live, with excellent schools. And they could have a yard for the kids and the dog.<\/p>\n
The fast pace of growth continued through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s–not only residential development, but construction of\u00a0shopping malls and industrial parks. The county became a place to work, as well as a place to live. Looking back on those decades, Montgomery County was an engine of constant real estate development.<\/p>\n
By the turn of the century, Bethesda was on its way to becoming an “edge city,” with tall office and residential buildings. Cutting-edge industry emerged along the I-270 corridor in Rockville and Gaithersburg, and\u00a0residential\u00a0development extended to Germantown.<\/p>\n
Now, in the year 2014, with a \u00a0population of one million, and more jobs than any other jurisdiction in Maryland, we’re not sure if Montgomery County is destined to be a city, a suburb, or something in between.\u00a0Jobs are\u00a0a critical concern,\u00a0but housing is also essential,\u00a0especially a range of affordable housing for everyone from retail and service workers, to teachers and police officers, to the very affluent.<\/p>\n
Taking stock as we approach the 2014 election, and looking to the future, residents might ask the following question:<\/p>\n
Do Montgomery County voters want to live inside a constantly growing economic engine?<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My own instinctive\u00a0answer is, “No, Montgomery residents want to preserve, as much as possible, a more bucolic, suburban sense of place.”<\/p>\n
At the same time, I wonder, “Maybe\u00a0we’re too far down the road to urbanization to turn back. We have more jobs than any other place\u00a0in Maryland. Our population is\u00a0diverse and multilingual. Wouldn’t it be\u00a0cool to become a 21st century, cosmopolitan city.”<\/p>\n
Imagine a prosperous\u00a0urban center, combining the best of Montreal and Silicon Valley.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Montgomery County residents and leaders haven’t\u00a0had much time to catch their breath and fully consider the choices. Growing from 165,000 to one million in\u00a0six decades, it’s been a constant challenge just for basic\u00a0infrastructure to keep\u00a0up with population and job growth.<\/p>\n
Past economic growth has been truly impressive, but we have no reason to project that kind of growth into the future.\u00a0We can’t predict whether future development\u00a0will overwhelm us, or go elsewhere.<\/p>\n
For one thing,\u00a0the federal government remains\u00a0the most important economic influence in the Washington, D.C., region.\u00a0If the federal government did not exist,\u00a0Montgomery County would still be farmland.<\/p>\n
The federal government remains\u00a0the largest single employer in Montgomery County. But consider that federal job growth has probably peaked.\u00a0Many workers\u00a0in both public and private sectors will be replaced\u00a0by\u00a0computers and robots. We may well lose jobs\u00a0faster than we can create them.<\/p>\n
No matter what politicians\u00a0say at election time, it’s not within the power of any one local leader, or even all local leaders acting together,\u00a0to create private sector jobs.<\/p>\n
If\u00a0economic and job\u00a0growth is Plan A, we should\u00a0also have a Plan B. Plan A only works if\u00a0the American economy returns to the status quo ante 2006. If\u00a0not, if there’s been an economic paradigm shift, we’ll need a Plan B. What that plan would involve\u00a0is beyond the scope of this article.<\/p>\n
21st Century Infrastructure<\/h3>\n
Based on geography and infrastructure in the\u00a0Maryland-D.C.-Virginia region, it looks to me like the economic engine of the future might be\u00a0the I-95 corridor.<\/p>\n
It’s shaped like a\u00a0barbell, anchored in the south\u00a0by\u00a0the federal government and major universities in Washington. In\u00a0the north it’s anchored\u00a0by major universities and medical centers in Baltimore, and the Port of Baltimore. In between, along the highway and railroad infrastructure linking the two cities, there’s the University of Maryland at College Park, the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, and importantly, BWI Airport.<\/p>\n
Now look west, to\u00a0Montgomery County. The county\u00a0is not far from the I-95 corridor, but it’s not exactly at the center of the action. You might almost say — in fact, I will say it — Montgomery County looks\u00a0perfectly located to be a major bedroom community for the Baltimore-Washington corridor, particularly at the southern end.<\/p>\n
Historically, major\u00a0cities developed around transportation by water, railroad or airport.\u00a0In\u00a0the 21st century, can\u00a0Montgomery County expect to be a major\u00a0economic player without an airport? The county also does not have a professional sports\u00a0team, or a major research university, a medical school, law school, or even a four-year college.<\/p>\n
We’ve had our hands full in Montgomery County building a basic suburban infrastructure of schools, highways, and mass transit.<\/p>\n
If we aspire to be a cosmopolitan center with population density and economic growth, we need to commit ourselves to building other kinds of infrastructure, such as a major airport and a university.<\/p>\n
The growing Baltimore-Washington region is going to need another modern airport eventually,\u00a0I’m thinking. Dulles is far to the southwest and BWI is to the north. Reagan National is reduced to boutique-VIP \u00a0airport status for\u00a0obvious security reasons.<\/p>\n
But finding a site for a major airport in Montgomery County is a problem that boggles the mind. It would be an epic battle. Possibly Frederick County would like an airport to\u00a0support the economic growth of both counties. Or possibly not. All in all, an\u00a0airport to serve the western part of the metro area\u00a0seems like an unlikely dream.<\/p>\n
Besides an airport, it’s hard to imagine a city of \u00a0one million, a center of innovation and scientific development, without a university.\u00a0Lack of\u00a0affordable, local higher education is a problem\u00a0for both middle-class families and\u00a0business development.<\/p>\n
Montgomery College and the Universities at Shady Grove fill part\u00a0of the need, but they’re less than a\u00a0shadow of the excellent higher education available in Baltimore and Washington.<\/p>\n
So what does Montgomery County have to attract businesses? A great public school system, relatively high costs of land, and inconvenient airport access. Seems to me the I-95 corridor\u00a0might be\u00a0a better\u00a0choice\u00a0for many companies.<\/p>\n
Housing, Business and Jobs<\/h3>\n
It doesn’t make sense for jurisdictions within\u00a0the region to compete for all types of development.\u00a0No one can predict the future, but we’ll probably have\u00a0more than enough\u00a0growth to go around over the next 50 years. Might\u00a0Montgomery add another half-million people? Another million? It’s impossible to say.<\/p>\n
Since the pressures for growth are mostly beyond our control, wouldn’t it be best to allow the region to grow organically, rather than trying to rush growth, or block\u00a0it?<\/p>\n
Maybe the I-95 corridor has an advantage when it comes to development of business and commerce. Maybe Montgomery County has an advantage as an\u00a0excellent place to live.<\/p>\n
When good\u00a0companies want to locate in Montgomery County, we should welcome\u00a0them. But it doesn’t make\u00a0sense to encourage\u00a0growth on steroids, or to get into a bidding war with other\u00a0counties.<\/p>\n
Jobs are a critical need, but so is housing. The exact location of jobs is not critical,\u00a0as long as they’re within commuting distance. Montgomery residents moved here because they want a good place to live and excellent schools. They knew from the start that they’d be commuting. They don’t necessarily need their jobs to be in\u00a0the county.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the Intercounty Connector and the Purple Line will connect Montgomery County with the I-95 corridor in both north and south. The improved transportation network will make it easier for people who live in Montgomery to get\u00a0to jobs in\u00a0Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore, and vice versa. No need to treat\u00a0our neighbors as rivals.\u00a0A cooperative approach would enable the region to grow organically, with a balance of\u00a0businesses for people to work in, and houses for people to live in. It’s a win-win.<\/p>\n
Election year 2014 is\u00a0an opportunity\u00a0for decision-making. We only get this opportunity once every four years. But I’m afraid most residents\u00a0are disengaged from politics.<\/p>\n
Assuming that\u00a0continued growth is virtually inevitable, the question is: \u00a0What kind of growth and development do the people who live and vote in Montgomery County prefer, and how much? And what\u00a0do\u00a0the candidates\u00a0think?<\/p>\n
Is Montgomery County home sweet home, or an economic engine. Perhaps it can\u00a0be both. What do you think.<\/p>\n
Contact: BJohnHayden@icloud.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Political and business leaders often refer to\u00a0Montgomery County as the “economic engine” of\u00a0Maryland. Interesting\u00a0words, “economic engine.” In the 1950s and 1960s, Montgomery County was transforming from farmland to suburbia. I doubt that any of my neighbors in those years imagined that the county would ever be called an economic engine. In 1950, the county population … Continue reading Contemplating Life Inside An Economic Engine<\/span>