About Us
Everyone deserves a great place to live.
Montgomery for All is a grassroots, community-led group advocating for sustainable and inclusive land use, housing, and transit policies in Montgomery County, Maryland. Montgomery for All is organized and supported by the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
OUR MISSION: Our mission is to create a more affordable, equitable, environmentally sustainable, prosperous county through better land use, housing, and transit decisions. We first came together to advocate around the update of Montgomery County’s general plan, Thrive Montgomery 2050. After winning our vision in Thrive 2050, our advocacy will ensure that the general plan is implemented as rapidly, effectively, and equitably as possible. We seek to have the county’s diversity reflected in community planning processes, including a diversity of ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, incomes, and geography.
OUR VISION: We envision a county where everyone can find a healthy, affordable, stable, environmentally sustainable home in the neighborhood of their choice. Neighborhoods are walkable and bikeable with great transit, making it easy to live car-free or car-lite. These neighborhoods have an array of amenities in close proximity and plentiful housing and economic opportunities that meet a diversity of needs, life-styles, and income levels. We envision a county that is no longer segregated by race or income. The way we grow helps us to mitigate, adapt, and be resilient to climate change. All residents share in the prosperity of our vibrant economy. We imagine a day where this is true for everyone: owners and renters; seniors and young people; new and old neighbors; and people of all abilities, races, and incomes.
Montgomery for All is organized by the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a 501(c)3 non-profit, whose mission is to advocate for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.
Abundant housing opportunities; a diversity and wide range of housing types; and compact, mixed-use development with high-quality public and active transit options is the most sustainable and equitable way for neighborhoods to grow.
Homes can be less expensive when they share the cost of land with more households, are smaller, have less parking, or are subject to more flexible zoning requirements.
Land use, housing, and transit issues are inextricably linked and must be addressed comprehensively to best enhance equity, environmental sustainability, and prosperity.
A holistic approach is necessary to address our housing crisis. Addressing our housing shortage is necessary but not enough to make our county welcoming for all. We support the work of those leading on tenants rights, eliminating homelessness, investing in income-restricted housing and social housing, preserving existing affordable housing, and implementing other anti-displacement and eviction prevention policies.
OUR BELIEFS:
Everyone deserves a stable, healthy, affordable, and environmentally sustainable place to live.
All neighborhoods should provide great education, reliable transit, a healthy environment, safe streets, economic opportunities, green spaces, public facilities, and other amenities.
Diversity, inclusivity, neighborliness, equity, and social justice empower our communities.
More homes are needed throughout Montgomery County, but ending racial and economic segregation requires intentionally inclusive policies. Policies are exclusionary when they allow wealthier, whiter neighborhoods to avoid having an equitable share of homes affordable to a range of incomes.
Transit should be equitable; frequent; reliable; affordable; environmentally sustainable; accessible; safe; connect people to jobs, amenities, transit hubs, and other destinations; and strive to reduce travel times.
Join our movement.
Anyone who lives or works in Montgomery County, Maryland is welcome to join as a member. Members vote on the steering committee and the group's advocacy priorities.
Members must pay a non-refundable minimum $5 annual fee (although you’re welcome to donate more!), which helps to fund the CSG organizer position and pays for event spaces, campaign materials, and other goodies. Anyone may request a fee waiver by contacting carrie@smartergrowth.net.