Posts from January 2017
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It’s easy to be car-free in Arlington. Does that make it harder to vote?
The November 8 election was the first presidential election where voters in Virginia were required to show a valid photo ID to cast their vote. In Arlington, that made voting quite difficult for a lot of people without a Virginia driver’s license. Keep reading…
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Housing cost burdens, explained
When housing advocates talk about the affordability crisis, they often focus on one important statistic: the share of cost-burdened households in a city. A household is said to be cost-burdened when it pays more than 30 percent of its income toward housing expenses. As a more extreme measure, a household is said to be severely cost-burdened when it pay at least 50 percent of its income toward housing expenses. Keep reading…
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Try to get to work on time in this great commuting “game” from WAMU
Your boss hates when you're late. You have to get your kid to daycare every day. You rely on the bus and Metro, but between SafeTrack, train breakdowns, smoke in tunnels, and more, you're taking a chance of delays every day. A car service costs good money, plus you still might hit traffic. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Airbnb is expanding in Arlington
Arlington County renters can now list their places on Airbnb, local universities are struggling with the new immigration rules, and Congress is probably going to be more involved in DC's affairs. Keep reading…
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See how long it takes to get from each Metro station to the downtown core
Like most American rail transit systems, Metrorail is arranged in a way that sends most trips toward a cluster of downtown stations where the lines converge. I made a map to show how long it takes to travel from each station to the system's downtown core. Keep reading…
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Ben Carson may change who gets housing assistance, but whether it disappears altogether is up to Trump and Congress
As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Ben Carson may move to make it so anyone receiving rental assistance must prove they’ve been working a certain number of hours per week. In DC, that would change who actually gets housing vouchers, but it wouldn’t make housing vouchers go away. Actual spending cuts are what would do that. Keep reading…
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A local business is shutting down because nobody can use the sidewalk outside
At 15th and L Streets NW, where the old Washington Post building is now a giant hole in the ground and construction on a new building is underway, the sidewalk along the western side of 15th is closed. Thanks to the slowdown in foot traffic, a coffee shop there is has closed its doors for good. Keep reading…
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Events: Join us to talk housing and equity at our next happy hour!
Our next happy hour is in two weeks! This month, we'll talk about the DC Comprehensive Plan, a document that impacts housing, equity, economic development, and more in DC. Keep reading…
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Breakfast Links: New WMATA term, same Metro problems
Jack Evans will face some familiar problems in his second year as WMATA board chair. DC's Grimke's School might not be vacant much longer. The federal government's impact on the local economy is becoming more limited. Keep reading…
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National Links: When people took back their cities
Protests throughout the world last Saturday showed us what it's like to have streets dedicated entirely to people on foot. Donald Trump's infrastructure plan came out this week… or did it? And as transportation technology advances, will the ride hailing industry stay in the picture financially? Check out what’s happening around the world in transportation, land use, and other related areas! Keep reading…