UMD students present 15-minute neighborhood study for four College Park areas

A University of Maryland class presented a city-sponsored study Monday proposing “15-minute neighborhoods” for four College Park areas, recommending steps to improve walkability, local retail and basic services within a 15-minute walk. The presentation identified Hollywood, Lakeland, Old Town and Calvert Hills as priority places for targeted improvements.

The project, led by Bridal Zagby of the UMD School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and presented by graduate students including Thomas Suetsky, described the study methods—literature and spatial-data review, outreach with civic groups, listening sessions and surveys in English and Spanish—and an interactive GIS tool the class is finalizing for community use. “This project is entitled 15 Minute Neighborhoods in College Park,” Zagby told the council. The students said the tool will map housing types, land use, transit service and walking buffers to show what residents can reach on foot.

Students outlined neighborhood-level findings and recommendations. For Hollywood they proposed strengthening identity at the Hollywood Shopping Center through improved storefronts, community art and safer sidewalks and bike lanes; they identified the recently acquired community-center site and an urgent-care facility as assets and suggested maker-space uses for an underused state building near Rhode Island Avenue. In Lakeland the students documented a history as a self-contained neighborhood and recommended a community information repository, co-generational learning spaces, community gardens, protections against predatory property sales and a community ownership/co‑op model for some parcels. Old Town recommendations focused on gateways, activated post-office frontage, pedestrian improvements linking the trolley trail and transit and additional park programming; Calvert Hills recommendations emphasized filling healthcare gaps, targeted housing options such as accessory dwelling units and improved sidewalk/lighting and transit service within the neighborhood.

Councilmembers and staff praised the depth of the student work and asked clarifying questions. Councilmember Hernandez called the report a “very robust study” and asked about the Department of Labor building the students mentioned; a student replied that city planning staff had indicated the city had shown interest in the building but it remained under state control. Councilmember Whitney and others pressed the team on cross‑neighborhood priorities; students and Zagby said health‑care access and aging-in-place housing rose across the four areas. Assistant City Manager Gardiner and Planning staff said the study could help form objectives and key results (OKRs) during the city’s five‑year strategic planning and that the final report and GIS tool will be delivered to the council in June 2025.

The presentation included community-sourced priorities: safer pedestrian crossings and bike routes on Rhode Island and Edgewood roads in Hollywood and North College Park; proposals for roundabouts and bus‑stop changes in Lakeland to improve circulation; and suggestions for temporary pop-up urgent-care clinics or “pop-up” medical services in Calvert Hills. Students emphasized many suggestions require collaboration with the University of Maryland, Prince George’s County transit, and state agencies; presenters did not claim the city could implement measures without those partners.

The students said they distributed a healthcare survey and will finalize recommendations and the interactive map in a June 2025 report. Councilmembers encouraged ongoing engagement with civic associations and suggested staff pursue state and county funding opportunities for elements of the plan.

The student team acknowledged community partners including the Lakeland Civic Association, North College Park Civic Association and the Senior Advisory Committee. Zagby and the students asked the council to review the final report when it is circulated next month.