Smart Growth Wizard Tackles The Nation's Capital

With her new role as the head of the Office of Planning, Harriet Tregoning, a pioneer of the smart growth movement, is set on molding Washington D.C. into a more livable city.

2 minute read

March 24, 2007, 1:00 PM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"As the District's new director of the Office of Planning, Tregoning hopes to carry out her vision of D.C. as a transit-based, walkable community with plenty of retail. A place, she says, where middle-income people can afford not only to live -- but also to have enough spending money left over every month to prime the city's economy.

"The District needs to reframe itself as a sustainable, green city," she says. "We need to have the kind of growth and development in our city and region that benefits the environment, enhances our economy, makes it stronger and more robust and engages more of our city in the economy and in civic life. We want to be a place where quality of life and community is so attractive that everybody wants to be here."

A 15-year resident who lives in Adams Morgan, Tregoning says she is aware that not everybody who wants to be a city-dweller can afford to live in the District. Washington is becoming too pricey not only for longtime residents but also for the students and young graduates who start careers at Capitol Hill, K Street and Foggy Bottom.

Tregoning's biggest challenge will be to realize her vision without alienating the development community, which would prefer that the Office of Planning stick to its core mission of reviving troubled neighborhoods, overseeing historic preservation and smoothing the permitting process for new construction."

Friday, March 23, 2007 in Washington Business Journal

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Brutalist grey department of housing and urban development building in Washington DC.

How Trump's HUD Budget Proposal Would Harm Homelessness Response

Experts say the change to the HUD budget would make it more difficult to identify people who are homeless and connect them with services, and to prevent homelessness.

1 hour ago - Shelterforce Magazine

Lancaster Boulevard with tree-lined median and wide sidewalks in Lancaster, California.

The Vast Potential of the Right-of-Way

One writer argues that the space between two building faces is the most important element of the built environment.

1 hour ago - Streetsblog USA

Sign in front of building for seior services center in St. Petersburg, Fl.

Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk

High housing costs are pushing more seniors, many of them on a fixed income, into homelessness.

3 hours ago - WESH

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA