Posts by Alex Baca — DC Policy Director
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We asked Ward 2 council candidates about transportation. Here’s what they had to say.
The GGWash elections committee is currently in the process of endorsing a candidate for the Ward 2 council seat, in advance of the June 2020 election. As part of this process, we sent a questionnaire to each candidate who has filed to run. Our questionnaire contained three sections, covering the broad issues that we routinely cover on the blog and around which we regularly advocate: housing, transportation, and land use. Keep reading…
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We asked Ward 2 council candidates about housing issues. Here’s what they said.
The GGWash elections committee is currently in the process of endorsing a candidate for the Ward 2 council seat in advance of the June 2020 election. As part of this process, we sent a questionnaire to each candidate who has filed to run. Our questionnaire contained three sections, covering the broad issues that we routinely cover on the blog and around which we regularly advocate: housing, transportation, and land use. Keep reading…
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The comp plan, which charts the path for DC’s growth, is being amended. What’s taking so long?
DC’s Comprehensive Plan sets the course for how the city will grow, and the Framework element sets the tone for the rest of this important planning document. Right now the DC Council is in the process of updating the Comp Plan, starting with the Framework. Getting the amendments passed has been a slog. Keep reading…
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The region sets housing goals. Now can it deliver?
The Washington region now has three measurable targets for housing production which will help clarify the amount of housing needed, how accessible it will be, and how affordable for residents. Keep reading…
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The region urgently needs more homes. Why not adopt housing targets—with teeth?
The region needs to build 374,000 housing units by 2030. Most of them—preferably, three-quarters of them—need to be affordable. Otherwise, housing costs will ascend from merely expensive to stratospheric, tons of households (about 220,000) will be displaced, and the economy might slow down to a sludge. Keep reading…
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Meet the five challengers to Ward 2 councilmember Jack Evans
The 2020 race for the Ward 2 council seat has kicked off in earnest: The first campaign filing deadline was July 7, and all five challengers—John Fanning, Jordan Grossman, Patrick Kennedy, Daniel Hernandez, and Kishan Putta—are officially in the race. Keep reading…
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Gentrification is beneficial on average, studies say. That doesn’t mean it’s not painful for some.
Newly-released research found that gentrification produces mostly positive effects for original lower-income residents, but that doesn’t mean there are no losers. Rather, neighborhood change is far more complex than the typical narratives let on, and there are a lot of ways to decipher and judge its effects on individuals. Keep reading…
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How DC can build more homes in exclusive neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park
It’s hard to build nearly anything other than a single-family house in DC’s wealthiest and most exclusive neighborhoods. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s stated goal to build 36,000 units of new housing in DC by 2025 is likely to run up against the fact that neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park, which are zoned nearly entirely for single-family homes, don’t allow denser types of homes by default. Keep reading…
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The DC Council took a very tentative step to legalize apartments citywide
Many local housing advocates have been waiting for almost a year and a half to see how the DC Council would react to the newly-rewritten intro of the Comprehensive Plan. The Comp Plan guides future growth and development, and the intro (called the Framework element) is important because it lays out the vision for the rest of the document. Keep reading…
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Should DC councilmembers be more intimately involved with zoning and development?
DC has few neighborhood plans, and most developments are decided case by case. The DC Office of Planning proposed new rules to rekindle neighborhood planning, but the council instead might take a different approach which would mean it’s far more involved than it has been. Keep reading…