Prince George's County is located on the eastern side of the region and is bordered by both the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers. It encompasses several historic neighborhoods and is home to the University of Maryland. Residents of the county want convenient commutes, good schools, close commercial centers and recreational areas for their families.

Protecting the rural beauty of the county, as well as the historic sites, is significantly more difficult as residential development increases and forests and other natural areas disappear. As the outer areas become developed and new roads, facilities and schools are built to accommodate the growth, the older and less affluent inner communities receive less county money and public services.

Regionally, Prince George's County does not have the growth, jobs, high quality stores and adequate services that other wealthy Washington suburban counties enjoy. The report, "A Region Divided", demonstrates how the DC region is divided by race, income, jobs and opportunity. Investment in major outer beltway projects like the Intercounty Connector (ICC) threatens to make the problem worse by attracting more growth and jobs to the western side of the region instead of in Prince George's County.

The county has opportunities to attract new development away from its outer areas to areas in need of reinvestment with existing infrastructure. Mixed use development around the thirteen metro stations in Prince George's County would give residents better access to transit while protecting rural areas that might otherwise be developed. Managing growth properly, as exemplified in the county's Comprehensive Plan, would bring access to jobs and services to parts of the county that desperately need it, and would protect open space such as the Rural Tier from destructive development.


View our Regional Smart Growth Solution: Blueprint for a Better Region

More on Prince George's County:
History
Contacts
Elected Officials

"Making the Most of Metro" Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities