Local city information for Columbia, MD

Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore and, to a lesser degree, Washington, DC. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not just in terms of economics and engineering. Opened in 1967, Columbia was designed to not only eliminate the inconveniences of then-current subdivision design, but also eliminate racial, religious, and income segregation.

Today, Columbia has a population of about 97,200 and is the most populous census-designated place in Maryland. By the early 2000s, the town had acquired many of the characteristics of other contemporary U.S. suburbs, such as increasingly large private homes on large parcels and "big box" retail stores accessible mostly by automobile. Rouse's ethos remains a strong influence upon the physical and political development of Columbia.

The Rouse Company accumulated over , 10% of Howard County (located between Baltimore and Washington), from 140 separate owners. This acquisition was funded by Connecticut General Life Insurance, at an average price of $1,500 per acre ($0.37/m²). In October 1963, the acquisition was revealed to the residents of Howard County, putting to rest rumors about the mysterious purchases. These had included the theory that the site was for a laboratory to study diseases and another that the site was intended to become a giant compost heap.

At this unveiling, James Rouse described Columbia as a planned new city which would avoid the leap-frog and spot development threatening the county. The new city would be complete with jobs, schools, shopping, and medical services, and a range of housing choices. The property taxes from commercial development would cover the additional services with which housing would burden the county. The planning process for Columbia included not only planners, but also a convening of a panel of nationally recognized experts in the social sciences, known as the Work Group. Meeting for two days, twice a month, for half a year, the Work Group suggested innovations that the planners should try in education, recreation, religion, and health care, as well as ways of improving social interactions. Open classrooms, the interfaith centers, and the then-novel idea of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) with a group practice of doctors (the Columbia Medical Plan) sprung from these meetings. Columbia was not incorporated; some governance, however, was to be provided by the Columbia Association, which manages common areas and functions as a homeowners' association with regard to private property. The first manager of the Columbia Association was John Estabrook Slayton, who died in early 1967. The community center in Wilde Lake, the Slayton House, was named after him for the contributions he made to the early planning of Columbia.

The physical plan, with neighborhood and village centers, also were decided upon at these meetings. Columbia's “New Town District” zoning ordinance gives the developer great flexibility about what to put where, without getting approval from the county for each specific project.

The first village to be developed in Columbia was Wilde Lake. The first high school to open in Columbia was Wilde Lake High School, which opened in 1971 as a model school for the nation. Constructed in the open classroom style, it was razed and reconstructed on the same site in 1996.

Columbia proper consists only of that territory governed by the Columbia Association, but larger areas are included under its name by the post office and the census. These include several other communities which predate Columbia, including Simpsonville, Atholton, and in the case of the census, Clarksville and Savage.

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