Registration Now Open!

From Our Partners

By Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner

The University of Maryland’s (UMD) Strategic Plan focuses on engaging with the communities around the campus and around the state. The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program is one example of that commitment.

On May 8, PALS is hosting a showcase of its spring 2024 projects and invites everyone interested in the next generation of sustainable planning to attend. Please register here.

PALS is a campus-wide program that leverages the expertise and ingenuity of UMD students and faculty to tackle specific, sustainability-related issues facing Maryland’s diverse communities.

Its mission is to provide high quality, low-cost assistance to local governments while creating an active and valuable real-world learning experience for UMD students. 

PALS has supported student work in many projects around affordable housing, placemaking, and planning. This year, PALS participants, with input and guidance from Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) staff, have worked on statewide projects and projects in various jurisdictions throughout Maryland.

Students from the Business, Public Policy, Information Studies (aka iSchool), Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Community Planning, Public Health, Applied Agriculture, and Geology departments have collaborated with communities on a wide variety of projects.

Projects in the showcase range from creating a business plan for a non-profit specializing in recycled and salvaged art in Prince George’s County to developing economic development recommendations for small towns in Cecil County and from addressing rural affordable housing in Brunswick, Frederick County to a fostering a small forest protection program in Montgomery County. (A complete list of projects may be viewed below.)

Although this is a drop-in event, a welcome and an introduction will be held at noon. Students will display their work via presentation boards in a gallery-walk environment. Students, faculty members, and clients who went above and beyond expectations will receive special awards. The remaining time will offer an opportunity to network, celebrate, and enjoy the student’s accomplishments with light refreshments.

To register to attend, scan the QR code shown above or click on the button below:

For more information about the University of Maryland’s PALS program, please contact Kimberly Fisher, PALS Program Director at National Center for Smart Growth at .