Maryland: Annapolis

Score: 63

"Annapolis takes its heritage seriously yet makes room for a vibrant community of politicians, yachtsmen, Naval Academy cadets, academicians (the incomparable St. John's College), and the occasional waterman who has wandered off course and into the high-rent district of the Chesapeake Bay. Perhaps the best urban archaeology program in the U.S."

"Traffic is abominable and parking difficult. Away from the historic streets and colleges, you quickly hit uninspired office buildings and car dealerships."

"The environmental and ecological quality of the Chesapeake Bay is a concern."

Pennsylvania/Maryland/Virginia: "Hallowed Ground" US 15 corridor

Score: 45

"The corridor along the Old Carolina Road (Route 15) from Gettysburg, PA, to Charlottesville, VA, is still very much a spectacular place. The highlights are National Park Service improvements to the core Gettysburg battle area, trolleys in the town, the spectacular agricultural landscape along Catoctin valley in Maryland, the historic fields in Loudoun and Fauquier County, and the historic townscapes in Leesburg, Warrenton, and The Plains. Real downsides are the Dominion Valley and Culpeper land developments outside Haymarket, and old Culpeper town's core area."

"Good agricultural tourism in vineyards. Is being slowly degraded with billboards, power lines, subdivisions, and strip malls."

"Rising gas prices and the collapse of the housing market have slowed the inexorable expansion of Washington, DC's, western and northern suburbs, but McMansions have already proliferated like mushrooms along this corridor, undermining the historical and ecological integrity and aesthetic appeal of the region. Appeal as a tourism destination is significantly compromised by unbridled development."

"The new designation as a National Heritage Area may be somewhat helpful in combatting the problems."