HYATTSVILLE WIRE: Residents of Colmar Manor will create a giant interactive map the size of a basketball court as they plan the town’s future.
In a town meeting from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday night, residents of all ages are invited to paint their home onto the 60-foot-by-40-foot map, play games and eat pizza.
The map will come with moveable pieces representing things like trees, speed bumps and traffic lights to brainstorm ideas for how the town could work better.
These kinds of meetings, called charettes, are often used by urban planners to spur creative thinking by residents about a city, but the giant map is an unusual touch.
The meeting will be held at Colmar Manor town hall at 3701 Lawrence St., on the gymnasium floor. The map will be updated in future meetings on July 14 and Aug. 11.
People have been living in the area since the 1600s, but the town wasn’t formally incorporated until 1927. Its name is a portmanteau of Columbia and Maryland.
