Bartisgod t1_j09fpp6 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 12:43 AM

I would never have thought Fair Oaks would be low-emission, with all the office parks and the Mall! But now that I think about it, those of us who live here do mostly live in apartments and rowhouses, and often bike to the grocery store or mall. If we do drive, which I do think most of us do, everything we need or want is rarely more than a couple of miles away. I wonder if most of the people who live here also work here, which could further lower vehicle emissions so much below the surrounding areas? I would be surprised to learn that's the case given this is still the DC suburbs, but there are certainly enough local jobs to support it.

fvb955cd t1_j0a1gf0 wrote on December 15, 2022 at 3:26 AM

I think the post-metro suburb green islands are really interesting. Gaithersburg and North Bethesda have a lot of big town center style development that make it a lot easier to walk/bike to shopping, have a mix of office and retail on-site, and also have bigger green spaces. But Reston doesn't have that (I don't know how comperable rtc is, I've never been there). And leisure world/Northern silver spring don't have that modern development style. I think the Gaithersburg green island is probably a mix of modern development styles and the working-middle class population.