Posts tagged Ncpc
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1950 plan shows never-built freeways
The 1950 plans for DC show massive efforts to remove people from so-called “blighted” neighborhoods, and give more fascinating and scary insights into the urban development mindset of the day. They also include a full-color map showing the many freeways then planned for DC: Keep reading…
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Was your neighborhood “obsolete” in 1950?
The National Capital Park and Planning Commission, forerunner to today’s NCPC, declared most of Shaw, Mount Vernon Square and Triangle, Capitol Hill, Southwest, Buena Vista and other neighborhoods “obsolete” in 1950. Yes, amazingly, they really used that term. Keep reading…
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Can federal offices change neighborhoods for the better?
Do federal office buildings make their surrounding communities better or worse? Last night, 3 local planning directors discussed how federal buildings can make local areas more lively places to work and live, but how some have had the opposite effect. The Washington region is unique in the number of federal jobs concentrated in large agencies. These large offices have the power… Keep reading…
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Washington Circle getting many more crosswalks
Today, the roads and traffic patterns around Washington Circle make it difficult and dangerous to get into or through it on foot. A plan from the National Park Service and DDOT will fix that by adding more crosswalks, paths, and traffic signals. Right now, there are only 4 crosswalks in and out of the circle, each crossing at least 3 lanes of traffic. Two of them, at New Hampshire Avenue,… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Share the car
Car2go ready to go; Zipcar interested in P2P; Gray dreams of Redskins practice fields; Purple Line getting worse?; Adequate Public Facilities law not adequate; Silver Line labor laws up in the air; Privacy vs. policing, take 516; Transpo bill moves right; And…. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Timeliness
Silver Line back on schedule; Red Line will be bad for 3 years; Metrobus driver mitigated crash; Revise, resubmit, repeat; Catching school bus violators; Cash cows get a lean diet; Prince George’s considers bag fee; And…. Keep reading…
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Designers try to keep the Mall “grand and personal”
As competing design teams come up with ways to revitalize three sections of the National Mall, a diverse panel of public space design practitioners excoriated exhorted them to envision an evolving space that reflects and keeps pace with the realities and aspirations of the region’s and the nation’s people. The National Mall is the most-visited national park in… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: 16 fewer cars
Metro pulls cars; DDOT still committed to bike lanes; New use for parking garage; Woodridge wants a main street; How should federal buildings look?; Students could lose parking privileges; DHS delayed; Keep sprawl in Czech; And…. Keep reading…
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Security experts, like the public, disagree on security
At last night’s NCPC panel, “Redefining Security a Decade After 9/11,” we were reminded that on security, Americans are a “cantankerous bunch.” According to Brian Jenkins of RAND Corporation, US residents demand to feel 100% safe at all times at no cost to their way of life. Jenkins, joined by architect Thomas Vonier and landscape architect… Keep reading…
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With crowdsourcing sites, agencies want your input on sustainability and security
Two local agencies have recently launched crowdsourcing websites to collect public input on important issues of the day. The DC government seeking ideas for building a more sustainable city, and NCPC wants input on security leading up to a panel discussion tonight. With “Start in September,” the Gray administration has turned to crowdsourcing to develop… Keep reading…