Posts by Tracy Hadden Loh — Board of Directors
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Tell Maryland’s comptroller to put the brakes on the Beltway/I-270 widening project
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn are bulldozing ahead with their proposal for massive toll lane expansion on the Capital Beltway and I-270. This deal is fundamentally flawed in multiple ways. Keep reading…
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Next week’s Beltway/I-270 toll lane widening vote has been rescheduled
Next week's Board of Public Works (BPW) vote on Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's proposal to add four privately-financed on I-495 and I-270 has been delayed. Residents have raised a variety of concerns about the proposal, which would likely encourage more driving, contribute to global warming emissions, and require some homes and businesses to be razed. Keep reading…
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Accessory apartments in Montgomery County: Still looking for the secret sauce
While thousands of words have been devoted to writing about accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on GGWash, we have yet to see a Renaissance of this housing type in our region. Why not? The answer varies between jurisdictions, but in Montgomery County, Councilmember Hans Riemer is tinkering with the policy works to see if he can improve output. Keep reading…
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How well is the region doing at planning for growth near Metro?
The jurisdictions in our region have taken measurable steps towards implementing transit-oriented development by upzoning land near the region's 91 Metrorail stations. However, at many stations there is still room for improvement, and some stations/jurisdictions are doing much better than others. Keep reading…
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Build more housing in Montgomery County using this one weird trick
My recent look at zoning in the DC region revealed that 82% of land in Montgomery County (not including Rockville and Gaithersburg, which both have local zoning control) is either protected open space (35%) or restricted to detached single family zones (48%). These are staggering numbers. Keep reading…
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Where the Washington region is zoned for single-family homes: an update
Yesterday I wrote a post about single-family zoning in the Washington region. I got a lot of constructive feedback on the post, some of which was incorporated into revisions. Readers also wanted to know why I hadn't disaggregated undevelopable land, such as agricultural reserve, preserved open space, and federal lands from single-family zoning. Well… Keep reading…
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Here’s how much of the Washington region is off-limits to growth
The US urbanist community has been profoundly shewk by Minneapolis moving last week to end single-family zoning citywide. It raises the question: How much of the Washington region is locked into the least-intensive level of land use via the type of zoning that Minneapolis will now end? Keep reading…
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Ready for holiday shopping? Here are some urbanist holiday gifts for kids, from local merchants
Back for 2018, here's a roundup from our contributors of urbanist gift ideas for kids. In prior years, we have rounded up baby railfan-specific suggestions and more general classics. This year, we've got some ideas for how to shop local in our own great region. Keep reading…
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Why is that house or storefront vacant?
In an area like DC where the population is growing, one question often vexes neighbors: why is that house or storefront vacant? It just doesn’t seem to make sense. Why do landlords leave properties empty when they could be getting rent? Keep reading…
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Environmentalists and development: a complex relationship in a hyperbolic election season
In election races in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, candidates are claiming they “support the environment” or “are for smart growth.” Some of those candidates also seem to be against most development while others are more supportive. It’s hard to make sense of all this. What’s the green view of growth? Keep reading…