Events: Help move 25% of DC commuters to walk, bike, or scoot!

Do you care about smarter, more sustainable commuting? DC has set a goal in its sustainability plan for 25% of trips to happen by walking, bicycling, and scooting. How can we hit this target?

Join us on Thursday, October 11 at 6 pm at WeWork K St (1875 K Street NW) to hear a panel of experts, including District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Jeff Marootian, discuss how DC can achieve this exciting goal. Marootian and representatives from mobility companies and civic groups will discuss the steps DC could take to reduce automobile usage and increase the walking, biking, and scooting mode share. Register to attend here! Tickets are $10.

Other events from around the region:

Monday, September 24

Mingle with midsize metro Mayor Mick: DC's newest independent bookstore, Solid State Books (600 H St NE), is hosting four-term Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett at 7 pm to discuss his new book, a hopeful and illuminating look at the dynamic and inventive urban centers that will lead the US in coming years. Once regarded as a forgettable city in “flyover country,” Oklahoma City has become one of our nation’s most dynamic places — and it is not alone.

The Next American City: The Big Promise of Our Midsize Metro highlights cities of modest size but outsized accomplishment, and reveals how our metropolises are reinventing themselves by way of civic engagement, inventive public policy, and smart urban design. It is a study of the changes re-shaping American urban life — and a blueprint for those to come. As mayor of one of America’s most improved cities, Cornett used a bold, creative, and personal approach to orchestrate his city’s renaissance. Cornett translates his city’s success into a vision for the future of our country. Get more information here.

Walk this way: DC Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC) meetings are opportunities to hear from city officials, share your concerns about our streets, and help develop policy recommendations. PAC meetings are open to the public, and they need your help to work toward a safer, more walkable D.C. Join the PAC at 6:30 pm at One Judiciary Square (441 4th St NW) on the 11th floor. Find more meeting information here.

Tuesday, September 25

Check progress on the Frederick Douglass bridge: Join DDOT at Democracy Prep Congress Heights (3100 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE) at 6:30 pm to learn the latest about the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge project (which GGWash has covered before). DDOT will present an overview of the project and discuss training, job, and business opportunities. Can't make it on Tuesday? Don't worry, DDOT's holding this public meeting again on Wednesday September 26, at the King Greenleaf Recreation Center (201 N Street SW) at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday, September 26

Join Prince George's planners to learn from Arlington's success: For more than 50 years, Arlington’s General Land Use Plan (GLUP), a core element of the county’s Comprehensive Plan, has guided its transformation from a suburban, auto-centric collection of neighborhoods to one of this country’s most recognized examples of the benefits of smart growth, sustainability, walkability, and transit-oriented development.

Arlington's GLUP demonstrates how the mistakes and impacts of suburban sprawl can be corrected and avoided through a visionary and continuous commitment to innovative planning. Consider what Arlington's historic 40-year planning journey and transformation could mean for Prince George's County at the County Administration Building (14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD) at 10:30 am. Plan your visit here!

Thursday, September 27

Hold DC accountable for realizing Vision Zero: DC Councilmembers Charles Allen and Mary Cheh are holding a joint hearing on the city’s implementation of its Vision Zero commitment and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Amendment Act of 2016. Importantly, Allen and Cheh chair two DC Council committees with oversight over dozens of city agencies. This joint hearing shows a key recognition that for the city to reach Vision Zero, it requires the efforts of the entire Wilson Building, not just DDOT. Attend the hearing in Room 500 of the John Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) at 1:30 pm. Learn how to attend, offer remarks and/or submit written testimony here.

Innovate on affordable housing: Join GWU's Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA), KeyBank, and Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) for a timely discussion on innovations in the affordable housing industry. In the midst of a national affordable housing crisis, leaders in the field will engage in a thoughtful discussion on proven strategies in the areas of services, construction and financing. The panel will also include an overview of the current state of affordable housing. The discussion will be held in the third floor amphitheater of the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center (800 21st Street NW) at 5:30 pm, and you can register here.

Study race and equity in America's public schools: Join Education Forward DC, the Greater Washington Community Foundation, and the DC Public Education Fund for a citywide screening of America to Me, a 10-part docu-series about race and equity in America’s public schools. Directed by Academy-Award nominee Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Life Itself, The Interrupters), the series follows a year in the life of students, teachers, and administrators at Oak Park and River Forest High School, a racially integrated high school near Chicago.

The screening will be at 6 pm at the Howard Cramton Auditorium (2455 Sixth Street NW) along with a discussion with former US Secretary of Education and CEO of Ed Trust, John King; Interim Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools, Amanda Alexander; National Black Justice Coalition ED, David Johns; former Washington, DC Deputy Mayor for Education, Abigail Smith; and series-featured student, Jada Buford. Get your ticket here.

Friday, September 28

Farm in the city: Mark the end of the summer growing season by visiting UDC's Firebird Research Farm (12001 Old Baltimore Pike, Beltsville, MD) from 2 to 6 pm, where you can learn harvesting techniques for eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and more. They will be pulling out old plants to prepare for fall crops and cleaning around the farm.

Participants will be allowed to take home one bag of free produce at the end of the event. Tours of our aquaponic and hydroponic systems are also available, and will include discussions about the farm's sustainable systems and methods that reduce strain on the environment, as well as the research conducted at the farm. Register here for this free event.

Saturday, September 29

Tour College Park: Join the Coalition for Smarter Growth from 1:30 to 3:30 pm (starting at the College Park Metro Station) to explore College Park, MD where the built environment is shifting from a car-dominated thoroughfare to a walkable, transit-oriented community. You will be joined by College Park City-University Partnership executive director Eric Olson and College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn to discuss plans to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure, the city’s vision for a stronger downtown, and how College Park can expand the assets of the university to its neighbors.

Check out transit-oriented development around Metro and MARC stations and the forthcoming Purple Line, explore public art and placemaking, and learn more about what’s coming soon in College Park. Sign up here!

#FixGeorgiaAve in Montgomery Hills: Join residents from the six neighborhoods adjoining Montgomery Hills, the geographic area surrounding Georgia Avenue from 16th Street to Forest Glen Road, at the Montgomery Hills Street Fest to generate support for fixing the unsafe, congested seven-lane roadway, improving pedestrian access, and enhancing the retail environment. The street fest will take place from 3 to 7 pm on a closed-to-traffic portion of Columbia Blvd between Seminary Road and 16th Street in North Woodside (in Silver Spring, MD).

In addition to a wide variety of food prepared from area restaurateurs, organizers have arranged activities with appeal for adults and kids. Attendees can enjoy live bands or compete in a cake walk at either end of the Columbia Blvd stretch. In between, there will be an open-art studio, face painters, carnival games, and local artisans. Learn more from Friends of Forest Glen.

Check out more urbanist events at ggwash.org/calendar. Do you have an event you'd like to see featured in the weekly events post? Submit it here.