Bicycling in historic Anacostia by John Stowe used with permission.

In a city known for its walkability, residents and workers in Wards 7 and 8 face a different reality. Today’s (Monday) your chance to show your support for improved access to buses, bikes, scooters, and more east of the Anacostia River by joining GGWash and We Act Radio from 6 to 8 pm at THEARC (1901 Mississippi Ave SE). Councilmember Trayon White will provide opening remarks, and the speaking program begins at 6:20 pm.

Tickets are free; get yours now to join a community conversation about vital issues of transportation safety and equity. Thank you to our event sponsors Lyft, Bird, Lime, and Uber! Not able to attend tonight? We Act Radio is livestreaming the event (starting at 6:20 pm) on Facebook and YouTube.

Other events from around the region:

Tuesday, June 4

Meetup at the Met… Branch Trail: Join the Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) from 5 to 7 pm just south of the bike/ped bridge to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station (919 Rhode Island Ave NE) to “help beautify the Met Branch Trail [by] planting ground cover, weeding, pruning, and generally having a good time.” Find more information here.

Wednesday, June 5

Tri-plexes in one of the Twin Cities: Learn all about “Lessons for Arlington from the Minneapolis 2040 Plan” at the 2019 Leckey Forum, from 3 to 6 pm at the Arlington Central Library (1015 North Quincy Street, Arlington, VA), where you’ll hear that “Minneapolis recently adopted a bold new comprehensive plan that will transform the way the city will grow, taking steps toward addressing historic patterns of segregation and lack of affordability. The plan allows the development of tri-plex housing citywide, eliminates minimum parking requirements, and allows more high-density housing along transportation corridors.”

Attend this free event, and “hear from Andrea Brennan, Director of Housing Policy and Development for Minneapolis, about how the city engaged with residents to develop this new plan,” and in order to bring it home for our region, “a panel of local leaders will discuss what we can learn from Minneapolis.” Register to attend here!

Make Quincy Street safer: From 6 to 7:30 pm, drop by the Washington and Lee High School Cafeteria Commons (1301 N Stafford Street, Arlington, VA) to help county staff make the most of “routine spring repaving work within the County [to consider] potential restriping options to improve multimodal safety and connections along N Quincy Street.” Find more information here.

Thursday, June 6

How lawsuits affected affordable housing: Come see our own Founder and Executive Director, David Alpert, participate in a panel addresing how “the path to more affordable housing has often been through Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs. But a recent spike in court challenges of PUD rulings has held up about 1,000 units of affordable housing while prompting some developers to take the “by right” route. Do these challenges compromise the District’s ability to secure more affordable housing and other benefits, such as public space improvements and community serving amenities?”

Stop by the DC Bar (901 4th ST NW) to join “a conversation [to] discuss how the PUD process works, the importance of protecting the tenant’s voice, and what steps should be taken to address the concerns that prompt the increase in appeals.” Register to attend here!

Saturday, June 8

Less Anacrustia and more Anacostia, please: There’s another opportunity to pitch in to clean up trails with WABA from 10 am to 12 pm at the intersection of Anacostia Dr and Nicholson St SE, where you’ll help “clean up trash… on the riverbank trash along the trail.” Find more information here.

Check out more urbanist events at ggwash.org/calendar. Do you have an event you’d like to see featured in the weekly events post? Submit it here.