Posts about Planning
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Transportation mostly survives DC budget cuts, but planning takes a big hit
DC will continue most of its existing transportation efforts next year under a draft budget released by DC mayor Muriel Bowser. However, unless the DC Council changes the budget, the District will have somewhat less funding for affordable housing programs and won’t plan ahead to ensure well-coordinated development in areas slated for big growth and change. Keep reading…
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How Pennsylvania Avenue’s Freedom Plaza failed
One of Freedom Plaza’s designers, architect Denise Scott Brown, described the original design as “a lovely success” but said “I see the execution as a failure.” Keep reading…
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Can DC build a better Comp Plan process? An Office of Planning report hints at “yes.”
Within the Comp Plan package that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser recently sent to the DC council is a report from Office of Planning staff. It contains some interesting tidbits about what’s come out of OP’s outreach efforts over the past year, as well as some remarks on how our comprehensive planning process, and documents, could work better. Keep reading…
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Montgomery envisions more types of housing and safer streets
MoCo leaders envision a county with a variety of housing types, creating a web of “complete communities” and transforming dangerous arterial roadways into safe, multimodal boulevards. Keep reading…
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Mayor Bowser sent amendments to DC’s Comp Plan to the council. Here’s what you need to know.
On Thursday, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser sent the full set of her administration’s final Comprehensive Plan amendments to the council. Office of Planning officials had previously stated that they would have amendments to the Comp Plan ready by mid-April, so the city has met its own deadline. Keep reading…
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Images show how 80,000 people in a square mile look in different neighborhoods
When we talk about dense housing, many think of New York City skyscrapers, or Soviet blocks. But as images of different neighborhoods in DC show, not all density looks the same. Keep reading…
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This photo shows why buildings in Rosslyn aren’t even taller
For decades, Rosslyn has had the tallest buildings in the Washington region. But they’re still not that tall — they max out at around 400 feet, which is well below the height of the tallest buildings in most major US cities. So why doesn’t Rosslyn have bigger buildings? Keep reading…
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Few details emerge on AFRH redevelopment, but the Office of Planning is planning to plan
A presentation shed very little light on what’s in store for 80 acres of the Armed Forces Retirement Home at North Capitol Street and Irving Street in DC, slated for a private mixed-use development. However, a few more facts did emerge about the future of this poorly-planned part of DC. Keep reading…
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Will development at the Armed Forces Retirement Home mesh with the city, or be another planning disaster?
A whole new mixed-use neighborhood may soon arise on a portion of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the large 272-acre estate off North Capitol Street. Will the new neighborhood become an isolated suburban island, or integrate into the urban fabric of the city? Keep reading…
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What if DC were all single-family houses?
American urbanists are starting to realize there’s a problem with single-family-exclusive zoning. But is it a problem in DC? For a thought experiment, let’s turn it around: what if all residential land in the District allowed nothing but single-family homes? Keep reading…