Illustration by TIME Magazine.

I’m back

Please give a huge round of applause to the Greater Greater Washington contributor squad for their hard work keeping GGW great over the last week and a half. Jaime did a terrific job as editor, keeping a steady stream of posts moving; Joey’s links were fantastic; and Michael, Cavan, Kent, Stephen, Steve and Lynda all put together great content, which will continue for the rest of the week and on into the future. Great job team!  

“Overgrown office park” to real city

Time brings national readers’ attention to the planned Smart Growth transformation of Tysons Corner, which it calls an “overgrown office park … with 10 lanes of traffic-choked hell … home to fortresses of unfriendly buildings surrounded by oceans of parking lots.” The article says, “What can be hardest for people to wrap their minds around is that to undo sprawl — and the traffic and smog and environmental waste that come with it — we might have to build a lot more on top of it. Right now, nearly half the land in Tysons is either roadway or parking. The new incarnation will be less car- and more people-oriented.” The article includes some great artist renderings of what Tysons could look like in the future. (Time, Gavin Baker, Joshua D, Cavan)  (Tip: Gavin Baker)  

More sidewalks coming, especially in River East

DC will spend $4 million in stimulus money to build 15 miles of new sidewalks. All wards get some, but the less dense wards of the city, which have more of the missing sidewalks, will get more. About half the projects will be in Wards 7 and 8, adding needed pedestrian connections to areas that could easily become less car-dependent. (The City Fix, Jaime)  (Tip: Jaime)  

I-270 corridor residents want transit

At a meeting last night in Gaithersburg, residents expressed strong support for transportation improvements, whether transit or road widening, along I-270. County elected officials are focusing on the Corridor Cities Transitway over widening 270 because it would be cheaper ($1.68 billion) than widening the highway ($3.8 billion). (Post, Cavan)  (Tip: Cavan)  

Mixed-income areas boost civic participation

New research shows that people who live in areas with concentrations of poverty vote less than equally-poor people in mixed-income areas. When our neighborhoods were more mixed, poorer people voted less than richer people, but now that our neighborhoods are more class-segregated, the gap is even wider. (Miller–McCune, Gavin Baker)  (Tip: Gavin Baker)  

Arlington gets greener, transit opponents claim to be

Arlington is increasing fuel efficiency standards for its taxi fleets (Examiner, Gavin Baker) … But some self-proclaimed environmentalists keep bashing transit, including recent Green candidate for County Board John Reeder and Examiner columnist Barbara Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth cites frequent anti-transit propagandist Wendell Cox to call Portland’s highly successful streetcars a “flop” and oppose Arlington’s efforts.  (Tip: Gavin Baker)  

Across the nation

New York neighborhoods underserved by traditional supermarkets will get new mobile produce carts (Times, Eric H) … Maps show the extent of Detroit’s sprawl, and how empty it is now (The Map Scroll) … One Seattle elementary school prohibits biking to school, even if accompanied by an adult. (Free Range Kids, JLH)  (Tip: Eric H.)  

And…

Room and Board will open at 14th and T after all (Community Matters DC) … You can now add value to a SmarTrip at 106 CVS stores, in addition to purchasing them. Giant is starting a test in 8 stores, and hopes to expand the program to 42 stores this summer. (WMATA, Gavin Baker)