June 28th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

Maryland's incorporated subdivisions could be at a crossroads with their individual fates decided, in part, on how each chooses to redevelop and revitalize their respective downtown Main Street areas. That was the message delivered by Parris N. Glendening at the Maryland Municipal League conference to officials representing 157 incorporated subdivisions that are part of nearly every county in the state.

"Some communities are going to prosper and do very well," said Glendening, the former governor and Prince George's County executive and current president of the leadership institute with Smart Growth America. "Some are even going to do better and have shared prosperity, reducing the inequity in our society and offering greater opportunity to everyone and that prosperity will spread throughout the community. Some communities are just not going to do as well and will have a continuous battle over budget issues and providing services and it will be almost an annual crisis. Sadly, some communities will fail. They'll just collapse. We've seen that around the country, well publicized with larger communities but also some smaller ones. "

But Glendening said the outcomes are not "a matter of rolling the dice."

"The decisions you are making now will, in fact, determine where on that future outline — and there are no other alternatives. It's going to be one of those four, no question about it — the decisions you are making now will direct which direction your community till go," Glendening said.

Climate change, an aging population, the needs of an even larger millennial generation and growing concerns over inequality will drive many of those decisions, Glendening said.