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: Happy New Year
A growing city; Charles County sprawlway; The ridership is right; C for yourself; Busted!; Is that multi-state inter-agency cooperation I see?; What’s driving business?. Keep reading…
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Parking changes could fix holiday traffic on Rockville Pike
Reports of congestion near malls across the region this holiday season make it sound like the recession never even happened. They also raise questions about how we handle traffic throughout the year. Many strip malls along Rockville Pike were built in the 1950’s for local shoppers. Today, they’ve evolved into multi-story, multi-building campuses, drawing customers… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Put your hands up for Detroit
Seed money; Honey, I shrunk the city; Something to be MADD about?; Spic-and-span; The year in development; Running away from consequences. Keep reading…
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Reusable bag incentive begins in two days
Friday won’t just start a new year and a new decade: It also will start a new era in environmental economic incentives as the nation’s first bag charge goes into effect in DC. Keep reading…
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Growth policy must talk about building community, not formulas
This is a new house for sale. It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a one-car garage, and a small but flat yard. It’s located in an established community with well-kept homes and top-rated schools that look like something out of a movie. It is affluent, but middle-class by D.C. standards, and it’s not very different from other D.C. suburbs with detached houses… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Stalled and crashing, but not burning
Pie in the Skyland; ACT calls out MoCo DOT; More top ten, this time in Maryland; Steps toward TOD; A nickel and two dimes to save commuters time; Crash course. Keep reading…
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Afternoon links: Ending the year, beginning construction
MARC explains why not; Top ten for transit; Killed in Columbia Heights, injured in Rockville; Great Streets construction; Free speech on the Metrobus; Metro and the federal government, together forever; Tax abatements for Donatelli. Keep reading…
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What’s That? #5: The answers
Congratulations to Teo, who identified all three pictures in this week’s What’s That? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: More transit next week, less overall
Holiday transit; Rail ridership declined everywhere; Peter Craig, freeway fighter; Kaine’s biggest regret; Highways are socialism; Contributions drove Accokeek?; What killed the Vegas Monorail; Why not advertise to parking commuters?. Keep reading…