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Greener
Greenbelt: Your Ideas, Our Future
 Listed
on the National Register of Historic Places, the historic center
of Greenbelt, Maryland, is a New Deal era town built to serve as a
national model for creating livable and affordable communities.
A
mix of art deco townhouse clusters and garden apartments radiate from
the recreational, civic and commercial town center.
Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2007, Greenbelt faces significant
challenges to maintain both its livability and affordability.
These challenges impact the entire Greenbelt community, the historic
town center, each neighborhood and cluster, and even individual
buildings and residential units. A comprehensive approach is
needed to reestablish the idealism on which Greenbelt was founded and
to define a future that will sustain Greenbelt as a livable and
affordable community.
As a model of New Deal era ideas, Greenbelt was heralded for the
revolutionary concepts of the town plan, the quality and scope of its
open spaces, the forward-looking expression of its architecture, and
the commodiousness of its modest dwellings. The current
appeal of
New Urbanism claims these same attributes. There is a growing
commitment to recapturing those qualities that make Greenbelt a special
place. Greenbelt is wedged within the National Capital
region. At the height of the Great Depression, the town was
built
to provide middle-income families an affordable place to
live.
With development intensifying throughout the metropolitan region,
Greenbelt is becoming expensive. What strategies can help to
retain the modest character of its townhouse cluster despite rising
property values and tax rates? Redefining the role of the
local
community and neighborhoods within the structure of a megalopolis will
determine Greenbelt’s livability into the future.
Matching the optimism and idealism that created Greenbelt, many of
today’s residents believe fervently that sustainability will
help
meet the challenges of preservation, livability and affordability, as
well as environmental stewardship. Sustainability serves as
one
of the core values of the Greener Greenbelt Initiative.
Old Greenbelt’s 1600 townhouse dwellings are governed by a
residents’ cooperative association—Greenbelt Homes,
Inc. GHI has engaged AIA Potomac Valley to guide the process
of
developing a citizen-based master plan for the future of Old
Greenbelt. GHI sees these practical challenges:
- Maintaining our appeal to families
while preserving our distinctive architecture
- Making our homes more energy
efficient and reducing our energy costs
- Ensuring the economic and social
viability of Roosevelt Center (the town center)
- Enabling people to age in place
- Protecting our lake, open spaces
and forests
The master plan will guide capital expenditures and benefit the
community in significant ways as it moves toward its centennial
celebration in 2037. Recommendations for improved building
performance will upgrade the original residential and commercial
structures now more than 65 years old, lowering utility and maintenance
costs. Greenbelt was originally built for families; the
master
plan will offer strategies to attract families to an affordable, green
community. As a “garden city,”
Greenbelt’s
landscaping on its superblocks around which townhouses are clustered
was an attractive amenity. The master plan will offer ways to
restore the attraction of communal green space.
Part of the challenge in reclaiming Old Greenbelt’s historic
integrity, while increasing its energy efficiency and other
“green” techniques, lies in meeting the historic
preservation standards that put Old Greenbelt on the National Register
in the first place. In a “back to the
future” move,
the initiative will capitalize on the ideals that created Greenbelt in
the Great Depression—sensing many parallels with the current
concerns over environmental degradation.
In emphasizing walkability, reinvigorating the original town center,
and restoring the community’s architectural character, the
Greener Greenbelt initiative will revive the ethos of the original
community while transforming it into a model of sustainability for the
future.
In late September the community will gather in an interactive visioning
session to set the course for the Greener Greenbelt Initiative.
View
all Blueprint Initiatives |
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