Posts about Planning
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The Palisades Safeway files for historic designation to avoid historic designation
In DC’s historic preservation process, all nominations start with an application. Often composed by professional historians and/or architectural experts, the application lays out the history of the property and explains how it meets the designation criteria provided in the preservation law. Except when it doesn’t. Keep reading…
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The Richmond Highway corridor could be getting more housing, shops, and fast buses
In March 2018, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Embark Richmond Highway plan to bring more density to this eight-mile stretch of road that stems from the Huntington Metro Station. The revised plan aims to do this through medium and high-rise housing, more targeted retail and restaurants, and perhaps most importantly, a bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Keep reading…
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Build more housing in Montgomery County using this one weird trick
My recent look at zoning in the DC region revealed that 82% of land in Montgomery County (not including Rockville and Gaithersburg, which both have local zoning control) is either protected open space (35%) or restricted to detached single family zones (48%). These are staggering numbers. Keep reading…
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Cemeteries use a lot of space and are terrible for the environment. Is there a better way?
In Berlin, cemeteries are being converted to parks, playgrounds, and housing. This reprioritizing reflects a change in attitude among some Berliners who see their city shrinking as its population increases—without the housing or recreation space to match. It also coincides with a decrease in conventional casket-in-ground burials, as cremations become more popular. Keep reading…
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One man zoned huge swaths of our region for sprawl, cars, and exclusion
Bartholomew’s legacy demonstrates with particular clarity that planning is never truly neutral; value judgments are always embedded in the objectives engineers set for themselves. Keep reading…
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In a bold inaugural, Muriel Bowser says we need more housing, in every neighborhood
In her second inaugural address, DC mayor Muriel Bowser called for 36,000 new homes in DC, 240,000 in the Washington region, and targets for overall homes, workforce homes, and deeply affordable homes in every ward and neighborhood of the District. It's a bold vision. Keep reading…
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Top posts of 2018: Montgomery County says no new homes in Silver Spring because the schools are full
For decades, school planners assumed that families would move out to the suburbs once they had kids, and made projections for where and how to build new schools based on that. But as that trend begins to shift, Montgomery County is finding school enrollment harder to predict, which creates new challenges in and out of the classroom. Keep reading…
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DC General closed, Arlington got HQ2, Bowser wants a new stadium. What’s next for Hill East?
Residents in the Hill East neighborhood are still in the dark about the future of 67 acres of ill-used land sandwiched nearby between Capitol Hill and the Anacostia River known as Reservation 13. Keep reading…
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Where the Washington region is zoned for single-family homes: an update
Yesterday I wrote a post about single-family zoning in the Washington region. I got a lot of constructive feedback on the post, some of which was incorporated into revisions. Readers also wanted to know why I hadn't disaggregated undevelopable land, such as agricultural reserve, preserved open space, and federal lands from single-family zoning. Well… Keep reading…
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The RFK site is one step closer to positive redevelopment—if Bowser and Evans don’t give it away to a billionaire football owner
Last weekend, the Washington Post reported that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Councilmember Jack Evans were working with Congressional Republicans, the Trump administration, and Washington football team owner Dan Snyder to insert a rider amendment to a bill that would help pave the way for the city to build a new stadium for the team at the current RFK site. Keep reading…