Posts by Natasha Riddle — Fellow
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Meet the group making DC streets safer through do-it-yourself urbanism
The DC Department of Transformation—not to be confused with the District Department of Transportation—is helping cyclists and pedestrians one plunger, or traffic cone, or ad hoc handstand, at a time. What started off as a Twitter account aimed at rectifying problems with city infrastructure, DCDOTRA has grown into a prime example of tactical urbanism. Keep reading…
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Sex workers struggle to find housing in DC. A bill to decriminalize their job can help.
Sex workers face stigma, legal penalties, and police violence in the District, and one of the impacts is that many have trouble finding a place to live. That’s one of the reasons why a coalition of DC sex workers and supporters are pushing a bill to reduce criminal penalties for consensually exchanging sex for money. Keep reading…
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More than shelter: How DC homelessness organizations help LGBTQ youth thrive
Young LGBTQ people face homelessness in disproportionate numbers due to discrimination, and the challenges are only compounded for those who have to deal with racism and ableism as well. Proper housing where a young LGBTQ person can be their full self without judgement can be the difference between surviving and thriving. Keep reading…
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This DC apartment building provides low-income families with solar power and a resilience center
In the heart of Columbia Heights, a new apartment building offers residents and nearby community members an unexpected service: Resilience. Jubilee Housing, a non-profit that creates deeply affordable housing for low-income residents, has partnered with New Partners Community Solar Corp. to create a “resiliency center” inside The Maycroft Apartments. Keep reading…
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Maryland joins DC in passing “clean” energy legislation. But is burning trash really clean?
Environmental activists are currently working to change a controversial provision in Maryland’s Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 which includes trash incineration as part of the state’s renewable portfolio standards. The law, passed on April 2019, mandates that the state source half of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, and all of it by 2040. Keep reading…
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The Ride of Silence honors fallen bicyclists
The Ride of Silence Wednesday evening in Benjamin Banneker Park SW was a gathering, a memorial, and a demonstration. But mostly, it was a sobering commemoration to cyclists killed or injured in crashes in the past year. Keep reading…
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Housing is a queer issue: DC dykes plan to march against displacement
The Dyke March, a grassroots march for queer liberation led by self-identifying dykes, first started in the District in 1993. It subsequently spread to major cities in North America and the UK, but fizzled out in DC. Now local organizers are bringing it back to the District on June 7 after a more than decade-long hiatus, and their inaugural theme is “Dykes Against Displacement.” Keep reading…
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DC passed the most ambitious clean energy law in the US. Now what?
In January 2019, the District passed the most ambitious clean energy legislation in the nation. However, local climate activists say the hard work is just beginning—they want to know who will lead the DC Green Bank, whether the law will benefit the least-privileged residents of the District, and whether it will be adequately funded. Keep reading…