Lewis has written that the mall should be turned inside-out to make it street-friendly.
"There is a clear advantage to having a downtown that is more than a central business district," he noted.
And Lake Kittamaqundi - home to icons such as the People Tree and the statue of Jim Rouse and his brother, Willard - is more than a hidden amenity.
"The Lakefront is a lost opportunity in a culture that has rediscovered [the benefits of living and playing near] water," he said.
Lewis' solution to salvaging Columbia is fairly straightforward.
"I support the notion of retrofitting small cities, making them denser and filling them with a greater variety of uses in order to create destinations where you want to be 24/7 and 365," he said.
The thing Columbia has going for it is it's big enough to accommodate complete diversity, he said.
"If there are naysayers who object to change, they need to go look at places where the urban fabric has a synchronicity, energy and vitality - like Annapolis, or Olde Town and Mount Vernon in Virginia," he said.
"Columbia is a patchwork of disparate elements, and it's not greater than the sum of its parts," he said. "But it could be."
The meeting of Bring Back the Vision will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Vantage House, 5400 Vantage Point Road. Dessert and coffee will follow. The meeting is open to the public but reservations are requested by e-mail to emilylincoln@realtor.com.
