Mary Rivkin, Education, in Chevy Chase Patch

In an editorial in Chevy Chase Patch, Mary Rivkin, associate professor of education, argues the importance of environmental justice, community health and childhood development to the decision-making process that is determining the future of the Capital Crescent Trail.

“Planners take many variables into account, but the variable of economic development should not dominate the decision-making as it has in the case of the Purple Line. I suggest that other variables—environmental justice, community health and childhood development—now take precedence,” Rivkin writes.

She urges developers to follow the model of “Highline Park in New York City, where a repurposed railway right-of-way has become a linear urban park so notable it has attracted both development and philanthropic funds.”

Her piece, “Re-envision the Trail—Plan Bigger” appeared on the website on November 9.