Columbia

Columbia is centrally located in Maryland, about halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The ten villages of Columbia are roughly bounded by Route 108 on the north and west, Route 32 on the south and Snowden River Parkway on the east. Route 29, a major artery between Baltimore and Washington, bisects Columbia. The central "Town Center" village is located adjacent to Route 29.

Appropriately, the commercial and retail center of Columbia is in the village called Town Center. The Mall in Columbia is a large regional mall and there are numerous additional retail and restaurant businesses in the immediate neighborhood. A significant number of major employers also inhabit the tall office buildings that encircle the mall and the area around nearby Lake Kittamaqundi. Each village also has a village center (of varying sizes) that is home to retail businesses.

Columbia is actually an unincorporated area governed by a homeowners association called the Columbia Association (CA). Each village elects a representative to the Columbia Council which oversees the common areas of the community.