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April 2026 Newsletter

April 2026 Newsletter

Join us May 8th for the PALS Showcase!

National Center for Smart Growth Research & Education
April 10, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Letter from the Director

It has been a busy year already at the National Center for Smart Growth with new staff, new projects and new research.

In January we celebrated the award of a grant from MWCOG’s Housing Affordability Planning Program. This grant will allow us to build on existing work our community-based partnership to create new tools and models with our colleagues in the Real Estate Development Program that support development without displacement along the Purple Line.

In February we welcomed our new Policy Associate Natalie Roach. Natalie comes to us from Prince George’s County where she served as the Vision Zero Program Planner in the Department of Public Works & Transportation. Natalie will work across our various programs to expand our policy capacity, support communications (like this newsletter) and help us build new partnerships.

It has been a big year already across our programs - and it’s only been three months!

-Kate

Student Spotlight: Long Branch Housing Studio Interim Presentation

Nzingha Campbell presents on behalf of her class.

This semester, in the Urban Studies & Planning Program’s Community Planning Studio course, students have been tasked with developing a housing action plan for the Long Branch area of Montgomery County. This area is home to three under-construction Purple Line stations and the community is hoping to mitigate the risk of displacement.

On March 26th, students presented their interim findings to their client, CHEER (Community Health and Empowerment through Education and Research), along with the NCSG community. The feedback provided at this presentation will be incorporated into the final product, which the class is currently hard at work completing.

Recent Publications

Cities of Meaning: Understanding Cultural Landscapes as a Planning Agenda in Richmond, VA (Link) by Kathryn Howell, Meghan Z. Gough
A Trauma-Informed Planning Framework (TIPF) for Immigrant Belonging (Link) by Clara Irazábal, Nohely Alvarez, Elizabeth Aparicio
Preservation Through Tenant Rights in Washington, DC (Link) by Casey Dawkins, Kathryn Howell, Sophie McManus
Maryland Today article, UMD Researchers Set Their “Sites” on More Affordable Housing Along Purple Line featuring Kathryn Howell (Link)
Maryland Today article, UMD Researchers Awarded $1M to Address Flooding, Other Risks in Communities Near Transit Stops featuring Kathryn Howell and Jennifer Cotting (Link)

🏆 Congratulations to co-authors Kathryn Howell, Megan Hatch, Elora Lee Raymond, and Benjamin Teresa on their 2026 Best Article in the Journal of Urban Affairs Award (Link)

Highlighted Events

Join us for the 2026 PALS Spring Showcase!

On May 8th from 11:30am-1:30pm, PALS students from the Fall ‘25 and Spring ‘26 semesters will present their projects in a poster showcase and will be available to discuss their work and experiences. Not only is attending the showcase an important way to support UMD students and learn more about their work in the community, but it is also a great opportunity to learn more about how participating in the PALS program can benefit your community or organization.

The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability Program (PALS) pairs faculty expertise with student ingenuity to tackle sustainability issues facing Maryland communities. This collaborative university-community partnership delivers recommendations, strategies and tools to address a community’s most pressing challenges, providing a road map for creating sustainable, thriving places to live, work and play.

Mariana Reyes, director of Taller Comunidad La Goyco, leads a site visit tour of Calle Loíza commercial corridor, which is struggling with gentrification post-Hurricane Maria. (Photo: Erika P. Rodriguez)

SBAN Visits Puerto Rico to Learn About Climate Displacement & Resilience

Last month, grassroots organization Taller Comunidad La Goyco hosted Small Business Anti-Displacement Network members and leaders for a site visit to San Juan's Santurce neighborhood, which is increasingly shaped by climate gentrification and speculative reinvestment. The visit was part of SBAN’s year of learning about how climate change is impacting small businesses, such as in Santurce, where commercial displacement has intensified after Hurricane Maria. SBAN learned about how La Goyco, which operates out of a repurposed school, is serving as a community resilience hub, preserving cultural identity, and supporting small businesses through affordable commercial space. SBAN is grateful to the community for sharing their experiences with us and helping us strategize about how to prevent climate displacement. La Goyco is also writing a case study for SBAN, to be published this fall.

PhD Students will Give Presentations on April 23rd

NCSG’s monthly research colloquium is now open to the public! Join NCSG students, staff, and faculty at the Anacostia Building every month during the academic semester to hear more about ongoing research from NCSG and our many partners. NCSG’s research colloquium is a dedicated space for researchers, advocates, and practitioners to come together to connect on ongoing local and statewide planning work. This month, we will have presentations by PhD students Rebecca Garman and Alibi Shokputov on their research.

Fort Worth, Texas, residents and small business owners strategize at an SBAN workshop in May 2025, hosted in partnership with the City of Fort Worth and Main Street America.

SBAN Offers New Anti-Displacement Community Workshops

The Small Business Anti-Displacement Network is now offering anti-displacement workshops that help organizations and the communities they serve identify strategies and tools to keep local small businesses thriving in place. The workshops are designed to support the work of nonprofit organizations, municipalities, policymakers, other community-based public and private organizations, and funders including foundations. Facilitated by SBAN leadership using the Small Business Anti-Displacement Toolkit, workshops bring together community leaders, business owners, residents, and other local stakeholders to develop a community-specific plan.