Biohazard Cleanup Near Fox Pause Columbia, MD

Columbia is a planned community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 census, Columbia is the second-most-populous community in Maryland after Baltimore.

Developer James W. Rouse founded Columbia in 1967, unveiling the new city on June 21, 1967, with the goal of eliminating racial, religious, and class segregation.

Beginning in 1962, Rouse secretly assembled about 14,178 acres, roughly 10 percent of Howard County, through 165 purchases from 140 separate owners using dummy corporations to keep prices low.

Columbia's master plan is built around ten self-contained villages, including Wilde Lake, Harper's Choice, Oakland Mills, Long Reach, and Town Center, each with its own shopping center, schools, community center, and path system.

Wilde Lake was the first village developed, and Wilde Lake High School opened in 1971 in the open-classroom style as a model school for the nation.

Four of Columbia's villages have interfaith centers, shared worship facilities owned and operated jointly by different religious congregations, reflecting Rouse's founding vision.

Columbia has never incorporated as a municipality; instead, the nonprofit Columbia Association manages common areas and functions much like a large homeowners association.

The centerpiece of downtown Columbia is The Mall in Columbia alongside man-made Lake Kittamaqundi, a 27-acre reservoir created by the Rouse Company in 1966.

Columbia has three lakes in all, Lake Kittamaqundi, Lake Elkhorn, and Wilde Lake, surrounded by parkland, plus more than 80 miles of paths for jogging, walking, and biking and 148 tot lots and play areas.