Introducing NCSG Studio

Dear NCSG community,

One of the most exciting parts of my job is the opportunity to attend the annual PALS showcase in the spring. It is the chance to see an incredible intersection of community questions and goals, student excitement over the work they did with the community, and faculty pride in their students’ work. While I love learning about the individual projects, I sometimes stand and watch the students sharing what they learned and the interaction between some of our closest partners on and off campus. This year was no different. Although we face challenges ahead for PALS because our state funding was not renewed this year, the program remains a strong symbol of what students, faculty, and neighbors can do together every day. 

Another such project is a new initiative we’re introducing: NCSG Studio. Studios are generative places where we can try big thinking and blend new ideas with existing practice to forge something new. NCSG studio leverages center resources to seed new projects and partnerships, conduct short-term projects, convene partners, and develop coursework that supports the mission-aligned work of our partners. While we are planning to look for support to expand the types of work, faculty and partners we can work with, we have been quietly doing this for some time with projects like our State-Owned Land Near Transit Map research on Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances and data on the need for affordable housing preservation in the Purple Line Corridor. 

I hope everyone is taking a little time this summer to breathe, recharge, and be ready to reimagine in the coming months.

-Kate

This spring, NCSG graduate assistants Alexander McRoberts and Cole Shultz updated NCSG’s State-Owned Land Near Transit Map. This recent update included the addition of parking lots, floodplain, and legislative districts, and new features such as the ability to filter parcels by county and/or owner, download data, and print simple, easy-to-read static maps for a more user-friendly map.

Under the supervision of the Center’s policy associate, the graduate students took on the task of exploring the untapped potential of state-owned land within a 1-mile radius of transit stations across Maryland, utilizing the State Department of Assessments and Taxation’s PropertyView database. Employing a thorough methodology and innovative techniques with ArcGIS Pro, one-mile buffers were created around 111 transit stations, analyzing land ownership and used to identify potentially viable development parcels. Their findings highlight significant opportunities for new housing development, particularly in suburban regions served by the WMATA rail system and in Baltimore City and County.

The outcome is an interactive map that enhances our understanding of land use dynamics surrounding transit stations, equipped with practical features for filtering and analyzing key data. The map showcases how various levels of government own a significant amount of land near Maryland's transit assets, well-positioning the state to invest in transit-oriented development. This first of many updates allows for NCSG to support our robust network of stakeholders seeking to boost advocacy and decision-making related to transit-oriented development across the state and support the policy work of close collaborators like Greater Greater Washington.

• 2024 Maryland Commuter Survey prepared by Chester Harvey, Director of NCSG’s Transportation Policy Research Group (Link)

• Keeping BIPOC- and Immigrant-Owned Businesses in Place: Policies to Combat Commercial Gentrification and Small Business Displacement by Nohely Alvarez, Bi’Anncha Andrews, and Willow Lung-Amam (Link)

• Understanding Racial Disparity in EV Adoption: A Survey of Marylanders by Nneoma Maxine Ugwu, Chester Harvey, and Deb Niemeier (Link)

• Internet of Things-Based Framework Application at a University Campus Scale: Linking Smart Monitoring Systems and Stormwater Management, co-authored NCSG’s Tara Burke and Gerrit J. Knaap, and UMD partners (Link)

• Doctoral Student Research Paper on Racial Neighborhood Context of Eviction Filing Rates in Maryland: Inequalities and Potential Mechanisms by Lear Burton (Link)

• Maryland Today article Getting the Purple Line and Its Neighbors on Track on PLCC by Maryland Today (Link)

In May, NCSG staff and UMD students gathered together with Langley Park community members for the 2025 UMD Blooms and Beats Festival. Blooms and Beats was developed in partnership by the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the College of Arts and Humanities, Takoma Langley Crossroads Development Authority, and NCSG’s PLCC and PALS program.

SBAN’s in-person conference is back! Join us in the Washington, D.C., metro area November 12-14, 2025, to strategize about how to foster resilient small businesses and remain resilient in our anti-displacement work.

Interested in being more involved with NCSG?

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