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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Breakfast links: Transcend the mediocre
Buy now; Midcity?; Truck driver in Swanson incident arrested; Barry the blocker; Changing behavior in Paris without government; And…; Fair use and prior restraint. Keep reading…
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DDOT FOIA officer wasting time stonewalling basic request
Councilmember Mary Cheh’s investigation into the DC government’s FOIA practices turned up countless examples where the Fenty administration seems to fight FOIA requests just for the sake of keeping information away from people. I’ve been caught in my own “Kafkaesque” FOIA experience after trying to request information about bus stop placement… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Wet and muddled
What a storm; No IZ units yet; Communication train wreck continues in slow motion; Will Latino museum be interesting?; Living close to transit is cheaper; Photography legal despite what guards say; And…. Keep reading…
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Brunch links: Enough weather, already
Stranded at O’Hare; Good and bad bike reporting; Arlington government won’t be changing; Absentee landlord?; How about “Georgetown”; Short sale cautionary tale. Keep reading…
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Parking takes up space
In March, The Straight Line showed the difference in scale between urban development and the infrastructure underlying suburban development by overlaying the I-270/I-370 interchange on top of Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle area. The amount of space we devote to moving cars is almost surreal at times. At Montrose Road, Interstate 270 is a whopping 14 lanes wide. At that… Keep reading…
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HPRB denies S Street addition
The Historic Preservation Review Board decided not to follow the Dupont Conservancy’s recommendations and will not allow the 3rd floor mansard roof at the corner of 15th and S Streets, NW. Keep reading…
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Preserve our buildings with conservation districts
DC should create a less restrictive form of historic district, in many places called a conservation district, for its historic row house neighborhoods and other areas with historic value but which aren’t interested in becoming full historic districts. Residents of neighborhoods recently considered for historic review have expressed much trepidation about the designation… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: DC’s contentious processes
Solar panels not historic; Rezoning the bear; The VA debate continues; Bike sharing stations not dense enough?; LaRecap of LaHood; Working around broken escalators; New York safety; Red card for driving. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Keeping it moving
Metro’s misfortunes; Blue Bus becomes Circulator 9/1; Bus stop consolidation very tough politically; BRAC imminent; Security sprawl; Washington Monument competition too modern?; Repeat after me. Keep reading…