Have you met your fellow GGWash readers in real life?
Councilmember Trayon White makes remarks at the GGWash Form on transportation equity on June 3, 2019 by Kate Jentoft-Herr used with permission.
We started the GGWash Neighborhood last year to provide year-round support for the site, as well as give readers new ways to connect with each other. Since launching the program, we’ve diversified the types of live events we’ve held to bring the conversations we have online into real life. We’ve also tapped a group of volunteers to organize unique social events that take you beyond the traditional happy hour.
GGWash Neighbors get free, discounted, or early-bird tickets to these events. Will you join the Neighborhood to support our work and connect with our community? We’d love to see you at our next social event, the GGWash Neighborhood Mixer on November 7, to celebrate the first year of the Neighborhood program.
Take a look back at some great conversations
The GGWash Forum series held seven events in the past year, each bringing critical and insightful perspectives to current debates about how our region can grow and develop. We started the series last October with a panel discussion featuring DDOT Director Jeff Marootian about how DC can get 25% of commuters to walk, bike, or scoot.
Image by Gordon Chaffin/DC Commute Times used with permission._800_533_90_800_533_90.jpg)
The second event was a lunchtime conversation about how government can take better risks, with Jeff Tumlin, George Hawkins, and Harriet Tregoning. These three former municipal directors looked back on their careers for lessons about how advocates can create the conditions for government officials to make the hard but necessary changes that will improve their communities.
In March we co-hosted a conversation with the DC Association of Realtors between real estate professionals and first-time homebuyers about the unique challenges of looking for a home in our area. Both realtors and prospective homebuyers in attendance took away useful insights for how to manage a stressful search in our challenging housing market.
Housing was just one of many topics addressed at our Open Forum with Andrew Trueblood, held in February, just before his confirmation as Director of the DC Office of Planning. Director Trueblood took many questions from the audience and emphasized his goal that the office needs to balance the needs of future generations with the needs of today’s residents.
GGWash’s two most recent forums were on transportation. In April, we held a panel conversation about the possibilities of regional rail connecting Virginia and Maryland through Washington, DC. We also held a conversation at THEARC in Ward 8 to discuss transportation inequities facing residents east of the Anacostia River.
And just last month, we partnered with ULI Washington for a conversation about urban resilience, climate change, and heat. The event celebrated the release of ULI’s report on urban heat, Scorched, and brought together the national, local, and neighborhood efforts happening to address extreme heat through better urban planning and design.
GGWash Forum events are great ways to learn more about the most pressing issues facing our region from experts in the field. If your organization would like to partner with GGWash on an event, please contact jgreen@ggwash.org.
Exploring our region with GGWash friends
Members of GGWash’s new Community Engagement Committee organized some great events to give Neighbors and readers unique views of urbanism in the region. The most popular event was the boat tour of the Anacostia River, led by staff at the Anacostia River Keepers. The first tour did so well that we actually held a second one in August. With these popular events, GGWash Neighbors get early-bird tickets.
We also had a great contingent of GGWashers at Rosslyn’s Putt-Putt golf pop-up, with a free round and a free drink compliments of the BID.
Other events included a Yappy Hour in Navy Yard, and outing and special tour at the National Building Museum, and a Happy Hour with Randy Shaw, author of Generation Priced Out. Our next event, which will introduce Neighbors and readers to sketching, is already full.
We love to meet Neighbors in person! Please join the Neighborhood today and we’ll see you at our GGWash Neighborhood Mixer at Sudhouse DC on November 7.
Want to help plan events like this? Join the GGWash Community Engagement Committee, a group of volunteers, by contacting jgreen@ggwash.org.
GGWash relies on you
Thank you for reading Greater Greater Washington and learning about ways to make an impact on your community. Our site relies on reader support to continue our operations. Please join the GGWash Neighborhood today!