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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Gehry Eisenhower memorial delivers old forms in a new style
Frank Gehry’s proposed design for the Dwight Eisenhower memorial was released by the National Memorial Commission yesterday. The proposal closes part of Maryland Avenue to create a monumental civic square between the Air and Space Museum and the Department of Education. For the design Gehry departed from his signature crumpled titanium look in favor of a collection… Keep reading…
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This year, let’s have a great Summer Streets
Now that spring is upon us, it’s time to think about the summer. New York’s Summer Streets program closed down 5 miles of Park Avenue on three consecutive August Saturdays and met with resounding success. DC should follow suit this summer with a similar program on a similarly important north-south route: 14th Street. Summer Streets brought tens of thousands of walkers,… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Real-time news
Mass. bus predictions on the phone or paper; MERV on over there; Bus changes; Cycle confidently; I can’t believe DC won’t give me something; Get off the phone in Maryland; The delicate balance of stormwater; Not the way to build a client base. Keep reading…
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Lost Washington: the Lafayette Hotel
The Lafayette Hotel was completed in early 1916 and continued its stately presence on the southeast corner of 16th and I streets, NW, until it closed in 1971. In December of 1915, while still under construction, owner Thomas H. Pickford announced that the hotel had been leased to J. H. Paris and associates for a term of years at $100,000. Mere months after the Lafayette opened,… Keep reading…
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Lunch links: Affordable and accessible
We’re really affordable!; Every bus stop is political; PG snow debate neglects pedestrians?; Bloggers for WMATA Board?; GPS making us dumb?; Congress to dig holes, point transit systems into it?; Development dispatches. Keep reading…
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With White Flint, Montgomery gets another Bethesda
The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved the White Flint Sector Plan yesterday, authorizing a new walkable, mixed-use district like Bethesda, Rockville and Silver Spring. Today, the area of Rockville Pike from the White Flint Mall to Randolph Road is an unbroken chain of strip malls and huge parking lots centered on a Metro station. These strip malls serve many of… Keep reading…
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Fort Totten streets get a little closer to complete
Last night, Toole Design Group presented alternatives for the redesign of 1st Place and Galloway Street NE near the Fort Totten Metro station. The alternatives significantly improve walking and bicycling throughout an area that is today suburban and difficult to traverse. In particular, Riggs Road at 1st Place will include pedestrian refuges, a section of the Metropolitan… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Profiles in courage and not
A tale of three “cities”; MWAA’s bait and switch; Committee of 500% more expensive; Federal transit benefit benefits Metro; Really a 2-way path?; Police don’t want you to know; The granite nation. Keep reading…
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CFA says no poles, paint on Pennsylvania Avenue
WashCycle is reporting that the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, “in its public meeting last Thursday, expressed its unanimous support for facilitating bicycle use and approved the basic design of the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes, but advised against the installation of the plastic poles and the use of color on the pavement.”… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: People out and about
Tourist season brings crowds; Myers blames the victim; One Texas town trying to stamp out cycling; Arguing numbers on the Gaithersbungle; Wisconsin ripe for a streetcar?; Anti angles; Preservation preserves. Keep reading…