Land Use
Greater Greater Washington writes about where we live, work, and play, why we make the location choices we do, and what forces shape these places.
Many people would like to live in safe, diverse, walkable neighborhoods with access to transit, stores, parks, good schools, and other amenities. While our region has more walkable urban places than most, the demand still exceeds available housing, making these places more expensive (and prices keep rising rapidly).
We must ensure that there are enough housing choices so everyone who wants to live in such a neighborhood can choose to do so. We should ensure that housing in desirable areas is available to people at many points along the income spectrum, and take action to fight segregation. And we can improve the vitality of all neighborhoods by encouraging new retail and amenities to improve the quality of life for all residents.
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Former liquor chair’s mistakes come back to bite Hank’s
Hank’s Oyster Bar owner Jamie Leeds has had about the worst time one can with the District’s alcoholic beverage licensing process. A years-old fight, which she’s essentially won, over outdoor seating popped back up last week and forced her to shut down half her patio during Pride weekend, one of the busiest of the year on 17th Street. Sadly, Leeds lost out on… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Slower or faster
Residents made traffic safer; Montgomery pushes Glenmont development; Retail doesn’t come to stations; Bad bank deals hurt transit agencies; House rejects transportation extremism; Should poorer kids get priority at charters?; Bike bits; And…. Keep reading…
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Macho men (and others at Pride) love Capital Bikeshare
Yesterday was DC’s Pride Parade. Matt Johnson caught some signs which celebrate both DC’s LGBT community and its best urbanist qualities: Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: DePillis extravaganza
Lydia wins; Kennedy Center shoots for the sun; DC goes east and up; Blight tax spurs RI Ave proposal; Give up your seat, guys; Take a van to work?; Entitlement fuels scandals; Philadelphia draws in suburban art museum. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: And one more
Another shoe drops; Two elections for the price of one; Is Gray next?; Don’t stop here; Metro fights harassment; Interns will ride; The neighborhoods of the future, now; And…. Keep reading…
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Georgetown and neighbors agree on residential campus
Georgetown University and leaders in surrounding neighborhoods have reached agreement on a groundbreaking campus plan that envisions a more residential campus. Leading universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton have adopted a similar residential college model, which integrates students’ intellectual and residential life while creating fewer impacts… Keep reading…
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Busboys & Poets: Take your pick of Anacostia’s vacant commercial properties
Chatter has reached the contentious corners of Anacostia that Busboys & Poets is interested in the Southside. But Washington’s first suburb needs Busboys more than Busboys needs it. “Over here, it is wait and see,” say the old-timers who have seen it all before. While newcomers largely live by the restoration creed of, “Just wait and you’ll see.”… Keep reading…
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The preservation process failed Third Church
On May 25, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) turned down the Third Church of Christ Scientist’s plans to redevelop their church and office building, at 16th and I NW, into a new church and office building. The church and developer ICG Properties already have permission to tear down the Brutalist church structure. They were seeking concept approval for a new… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: The end for Kwame
Brown resigns; Chair Mendo?; Reactions; Silver Line union preference gone; Metro works way out of way out problem; GU and neighbors agree; Anacostia’s value and brand; Bradbury foresaw future without pedestrians; And…. Keep reading…
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The mark of Cool “Disco” Dan lives on in Southeast
By and large, Washington, DC is no longer a city under siege. The era of drug wars, automatic gunfire, and senseless violence has mostly passed. The graffiti that covered swaths of downtown, marked Metro buses, and claimed territory for rival crews is almost gone, too. The ubiquitous signature of Cool “Disco” Dan from Tenleytown to Congress Heights epitomized… Keep reading…