Mapping D.C.'s Affordable Housing Investment

The District has created thousands of affordable homes, but analysts see a need for more targeted intervention.

1 minute read

September 25, 2018, 6:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


Washington D.C. Row Houses

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For several years, D.C. has pursued a multi-pronged affordable housing agenda that includes ambitious preservation targets, inclusionary zoning, and public housing, among other strategies. Now, an interactive map from the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute shows exactly where those investments have gone and which income levels have benefitted.

The map includes detailed information on all affordable housing projects created, preserved, or put in the pipeline in the District since 2015. Users can explore by zip code, affordability level, and program or agency.

The dataset shows that thousands of affordable homes have been created or preserved through D.C.'s various programs. But only a small portion are accessible to the lowest-income brackets, and little affordable development at any level is coming to "desirable" areas west of Rock Creek Park. 

"The District must be more strategic about where, and to whom, its housing investments are directed," the Institute urges.


Tuesday, September 11, 2018 in D.C. Financial Policy Institute

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