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: It’s easy being green
Zoo listens to us; Green plan, needs green money; Planning Department veggies; People and things bumping cyclists; Rosslyn’s temporary plaza; The art avenue; X marks the cuts; Vote in Congress versus home rule. Keep reading…
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National Zoo blocks pedestrian access from the east
Tourists often reach the National Zoo by Metro to the Connecticut Avenue entrance. But many local residents walk or bike to the east side gate off Harvard Street from Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, or nearby neighborhoods. Begninning this spring, they have been turned away, as the Zoo closed all east side entrances due to construction. At the Harvard Street bridge, a sign directs… Keep reading…
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“Monumentalism” puts postcard DC above human DC
Three recent opinion pieces in the Washington Post raise some thought-provoking questions about the way planners, preservationists, and others view Washington, DC, and question the long-standing consensus around a “monumentalist” vision at odds with other preservationist, environmental, and urbanist viewpoints. The widely-accepted view of Washington… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Governments for questionable urbanism
Left hand plans transit, right hand adds parking; Why the hate for form-based codes?; Cycle-assaulting teens busted; New bike infrastructure; Keeping you Posted; Ben’s on every corner; Cable cars and the blue castle. Keep reading…
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Weekend links: Light rail’s supporters
FTA supports domestic streetcars; Preservationist supports overhead wires; UMD students support Purple Line; VRE getting express, not longer trains; Circulate more this fall; 8 feet long, not wide; Bike Greenbelt. Keep reading…
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DC moving with record speed to change 14th and U restaurant limits, accepts resident recommendations
The DC Zoning Commission is usually a very slow-moving body. Hearings can take months just to schedule, and rezonings can take years. But the machinery has sprung into rapid action to address the outrage over DCRA’s recent determination that no more restaurants can open along 14th and U Streets in the ARTS overlay. DCRA’s ruling just enforces the current, yet arguably… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Montgomery’s losses
Dan Reed leaving; Vacant stores and gas stations not the path; Lots in (& near) LeDroit; Oh, these spare parts?; Alexandria’s parking solution; All about Bobs (and Tom); Drive-thru booze. Keep reading…
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DC’s unknown landmark, the 1972 “most beautiful bridge”
Washington is a city of monumental, often award-winning architecture, but one sweeping masterpiece of engineering seems to have missed the spotlight. Did you know that DC is home to the 1972 winner of the “Most Beautiful Bridge, Elevated Highways and Viaducts Category” according to the American Institute of Steel Construction? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Shape of the neighborhood
Modern and eastern; Housing very complex; New bike laws in Maryland; Listen to bloggers; Housing and transportation costs around Boston; Railroads are good for roads; In other news. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Big links on big stories
RIP Constance Holden; Outcry smashing ARTS overlay cap; Gaithersbargain wins straw poll; Not all Loudoun roads need to be 8 lanes; Pulitzer for distracted driving reporting; And…; Development dispatches. Keep reading…