Posts about HousingRSS
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LGBTQ youth disproportionately experience homelessness. Some are also entrepreneurs.
Homelessness impacts people from many backgrounds, so it may not seem like an LGBTQ issue. However, the District's 2017 Homeless Youth Census found that 31% of young people experiencing homelessness self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or queer/questioning, and 6% self-identified as transgender. Keep reading…
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The DC Council just cut $20 million for homeless services to fund tax breaks for commercial properties
On December 4, the DC Council moved to divert an estimated $20 million in new tax funds it had pledged for homeless programs to instead reduce the property tax rate for commercial entities valued at $10 million or more. That could have funded permanent supportive housing for about 730 people or long-term housing vouchers to about 1,000 very low-income families. Keep reading…
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Upzoning Arlington Ridge and Aurora Highlands could house Amazon employees—and then some
On the heels of the recent Amazon HQ2 announcement, important questions have been raised about how to accommodate the 25,000 new employees who will come to the Washington region. Our housing demand far outstrips the supply, even without Amazon. Keep reading…
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Pentagon City’s plan for jobs-housing balance needn’t be sacrificed for HQ2
Amazon's second (or third, who's counting?) headquarters is coming to National Landing—or more precisely, the weird no-man's-land that currently separates Pentagon City from Crystal City. Building offices on this site will require rezoning a site currently slated to become 1,400 houses. Keep reading…
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Despite protests, Reston is moving ahead with allowing more residents
Despite some strong backlash, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is moving ahead with its original proposal to rewrite part of its zoning code to allow for more growth in Reston. Increases to certain density caps suddenly became a contentious issue last year, even though they were just technical changes to fit with the updated Reston Master Plan. Keep reading…
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They did the math: Amazon will barely impact our already supercharged housing market
Researchers have found that the influx of Amazon employees will not significantly affect the housing supply, though the region’s housing costs will likely remain some of the most expensive in the country. That's a key finding from George Mason University’s Fuller Institute, which published a study that looks at the impact of Amazon’s HQ2 on the Washington region’s housing. Keep reading…
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National links: Can we design cities to make people less lonely?
Loneliness is reaching epidemic levels, but these interventions could help cities foster connection. Minneapolis is set to pass a plan that would upzone the entire city and do away with single-family zoning. The FRA is finally allowing lighter passenger railcars made in Asian and European countries on US rails. Keep reading…
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Tysons East wants to draw the “creative class,” and get them to stay
Lots of people come to the glitzy, suburban Tysons East neighborhood to work, but most of them leave as soon as the workday is over. Tysons wants to change that. Keep reading…
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Is underground housing a bad thing?
The Scottish Rite Masonic temple in Dupont Circle plans to build apartments on some empty space behind its building. One element of the project is two levels of apartments below the ground level. This has raised the question: is underground living an abomination, or something people can choose to pay for as they wish? Keep reading…
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The DC Council will likely pass legislation to fight sharp price increases for tenants
On November 13, the DC Council gave preliminary approval to a bill that’s intended to help tenants in rent-controlled units avoid larger-than-expected price increases by curbing landlords’ use of concessions. Keep reading…
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We just bought a home in Arlington, and it was really hard. Here’s how we did it.
If you have a lot of cash on hand, minimal debt, and a great income flow, you can acquire a lovely home in the Washington region with significantly little stress. If you're like my fiancé and me, you probably can't even buy into the “starter” segment of the market without significant savings or a sudden gift or inheritance. Keep reading…
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How property tax exemptions amplify racial inequity
Housing defines how residents share the wealth created by a city and how they access its assets and amenities. Population growth and demographic changes make their imprints through the housing market, shaped by how quickly supply responds to changes in demand. Keep reading…
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Eat the rich, Reston edition
This sign comes from Rescue Reston, a group dedicated to preventing homes for people who need them, in favor of protecting views of a golf course. Keep reading…
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As an Arlington resident, I’m excited about Amazon—and worried about housing costs
I am genuinely excited about the news that Amazon will locate half of its highly-coveted HQ2. I am ready to embrace the new vibrancy that will come to the “National Landing” neighborhood where I already live (in a place formerly called Pentagon City). Keep reading…
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Crystal City is (probably) ready for HQ2’s transformation
“Amazon has a chance for a fresh start… and those places have an opportunity to learn from Seattle's mistakes,” wrote the New York Times' Ben Casselman. This prospect should prompt local governments across the region to leverage this investment and implement plans that improve sustainability and equity, rather than reacting after the fact. Keep reading…
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This local partnership hopes to fix the region’s housing shortage
With Amazon HQ2 site selection coming down to the wire, a group of business leaders and a major socially-oriented research organization have come together to challenge the region to address its livability issues head-on. Keep reading…
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Video: The only cities worth building are those that include all of us
Cities need to focus on the humanity and the agency of the people living there regardless of socioeconomic status, says writer and activist OluTimehin Adegbeye. She poses some important questions we should ask about cities: “How are they run?”, “How do they grow?” and most importantly, “How do they decide who belongs and who doesn’t?” Keep reading…
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Our 2018 endorsements for write-in ANC candidates
There are 21 Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) seats this year with no one on the ballot: no candidate registered before this summer’s deadline. Write-in candidates for seven of those empty seats filled out our candidate questionnaire, as well as a few in contested races. Here are their responses and our endorsements. Keep reading…
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Can Takoma Park embrace a progressive housing policy?
This fight over the 1.4-acre Takoma Junction site took on an outsized relevance in this famously progressive, educated, and argumentative city. What started as a mundane debate about a relatively modest commercial development evolved into a gentrification “proxy war” and an intense struggle over the city’s values. Keep reading…
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We need 100,000+ new homes in the coming decades to meet our regional shortage
As the second round of debate on DC’s Comprehensive Plan draws near, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) has released a report highlighting exactly how much new housing the region needs in the coming decades: 115,000 additional homes above current projections by 2045, or about 25,600 total new units per year. Keep reading…
