MAPP News
Tanya Bansal Named Director of Real Estate Development Program
Clinical Associate Professor Tanya Bansal has been named director of the University of Maryland’s Real Estate Development Program. In her new role, she will oversee the graduate, undergraduate and accelerated graduate degrees at the university’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.View Article Details for Tanya Bansal Named Director of Real Estate Development Program 
UMD Researchers Find Homeownership Increasingly Out of Reach for Marylanders
Sluggish new housing construction in Maryland is driving up prices and contributing to residents' inability to achieve the American dream of homeownership, according to a new University of Maryland study.Conducted by researchers at UMD’s National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG) for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, the report released on Thursday indicates that the state needs to build nearly 600,000 new homes by 2045 to keep pace with the projected rate of household growth.View Article Details for UMD Researchers Find Homeownership Increasingly Out of Reach for Marylanders 
The “Art” of Building an Idea
To develop an idea for his final graduate school project 25 years ago, Architecture Clinical Professor Michael Abrams didn’t draw inspiration from his favorite architects: He riffed off his passion for music.View Article Details for The “Art” of Building an Idea 
Finding Friendship in Warm Waters
A conversation with a stranger—in the checkout line, riding a quiet elevator or waiting for class to start—can spark a human connection that brightens an otherwise ordinary day. Yuval Zohar ’08 has had plenty, with one distinction: He’s usually naked. In these cases, he has disrobed and descended into the mineral-rich, blistering pools found in Japanese onsen: hot-spring bathhouses fueled by the country’s highly volcanic landscape that for centuries have been a source of community, healing and friendship.View Article Details for Finding Friendship in Warm Waters 
Save Our Buildings, Save Ourselves
If you ask Carl Elefante ‘80 which of New York’s most iconic skyscrapers—the 94-year-old Empire State Building or the 11-year-old Freedom Tower—is more climate-friendly, the answer might surprise you.Both have LEED-Gold certification, the energy-efficient exemplar bestowed on a building. But because of the Empire State Building’s stone façade, it has staying power, said Elefante—when the Freedom Tower’s glass façade reaches the end of its useful life, it will be torn off and thrown into a landfill.View Article Details for Save Our Buildings, Save Ourselves 
An Abandoned D.C. Water Site Regains its Utility
For decades, abandoned concrete silos cresting the horizon like post-apocalyptic chess pieces presented an eerie curiosity for drivers crawling along one of the busiest arteries in and out of Washington, D.C.View Article Details for An Abandoned D.C. Water Site Regains its Utility