I hadn't thought of this before but...

On Thursday, a reporter from the Diamondback, the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, interviewed me about my thoughts on Foulger-Pratt getting the development agreement for what UMD calls the East Campus development on Route One, just east of the little commercial district and pretty close to the Metro Station, and of course, across from campus.

While talking to me, he told me that Doug Duncan, the former county executive for Montgomery County, is becoming the new VP for Administration (replacing John Porcari, who went back to running the Maryland Department of Transportation), and we went on to discuss the other issue.

I don't know if he is still doing that article (it didn't run today), but his piece on Mr. Duncan, "Duncan to assume top university post," is in today's Diamondback. From the article:

Duncan is perhaps best known for leading the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring, and for his strong support of public education. Montgomery County schools are among the nation's finest, and Silver Spring is widely viewed as a triumph after years of urban decay. But the man described as full of ideas said the university's goal is already in place for his next job."

I think we all already know the plan: to be a top-10 public university," Duncan, described by colleagues as a mild-mannered pragmatist, said. "The theme of the job for me is just to implement the master plan already put forth."

With connections across the state in place from almost 20 years of public service - including six years as mayor of Rockville - he's in an uncommon position to forge ahead. He's particularly well-positioned to take over East Campus development, considering his nine-year relationship with FP-Argo, Silver Spring's primary developer, is likely to have a major hand in East Campus.

Duncan, like many public officials, has a big project, urban renewal like mentality about "revitalization" and economic development. It likely means that he will be fine with a Silver Spring like development on East Campus, and I don't think that bodes well for walkability and uniqueness.

Duncan truly led the revitalization of Silver Spring. It is a great accomplishment, but it is definitely a mixed bag. See my discussion of this in "Doesn't look good for College Park, Maryland," and the counter-discussion in the blog entry "should college park go "silver sprung"?" from the Montgomery County essential read, the Just Up the Pike blog.

I was talking yesterday with a grad student who attended the other UM, the University of Michigan, as an undergraduate, and I told her about a great thesis video about what makes Downtown Ann Arbor succeed.

I just listened-watched the video again, and something new struck me, his finding that virtually everyone he talked to identified Downtown Ann Arbor as the center of the city. Sure some people mentioned State Street and the Diag, but Downtown Ann Arbor was listed as #1.

When I went to school, Downtown Ann Arbor was pretty dead. The department stores were dying. The restaurants down there pretty much sucked. There were no sidewalk cafes until Full Moon opened up (they had a great bbq sandwich/plate). Real Seafood Company was good, and I liked Central Cafe (first place I had green salsa...), but pretty much the retail offer was weak. It started improving, but was still a retail district that was second to State and Liberty and to some extant South University Street, all districts that had a lot of energy due to the proximity to the campus, and patronage by students and visitors.

Now Downtown Ann Arbor is listed as #1.

That's some transformation.

The things I remember from Ann Arbor include great Korean food, Zingerman's Deli, diners like Steve's Lunch and Angelo's, of course the Grad Library, the experience on State Street, and the college radio station WCBN, which at the time was free-form.

I don't think as an undergrad at UMD I'd leave with fond memories of the WaWa or the Applebee's. (Maybe Plato's Diner though--the portions are big, even if the non-breakfast food can be hit or miss.)

Kirk Westphal's video is discussed (and linked) within this blog entry, "Insights into a Lively Downtown."

Play Streaming Video: Windows Media Quicktime

What makes a downtown district appealing? Why do people go out of their way to walk down one side of the street and not the other? These are some of the questions that recent MUP graduate Kirk Westphal tackles with his 19-minute documentary film, Insights into a Lively Downtown: An Ann Arbor, Michigan Case Study. In this audio-visual exploration of successful city streets, Insights weaves together pedestrian interviews with footage of streetscapes and sidewalk behavior to show what Ann Arbor's healthy blocks have in common. By Kirk O. Westphal, M.U.P.'06 19 minutes