The Washington Post’s editorial board calls for immediate and urgent action to reform the District’s housing policies as the region’s affordability crisis mounts.
An op-ed from the Washington Post editorial board argues for urgent action to reform Washington, D.C.’s housing authority and provide more badly needed housing in the region.
The board outlines the findings of a 72-page Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report that highlights the agency’s failures, including 82 “managerial deficiencies.” The list includes “everything from leaving tenants’ personal information unprotected to noncompliance with HUD pet policies to numerous procurement breakdowns to a failure to ‘properly calculate rent’ to being ‘unable to provide documentation of the number of persons on its Public Housing waiting list,’ which hasn’t been updated in 10 years.”
As the op-ed states, thanks to the region’s affordability crisis, reforming DCHA management “cannot proceed at the city’s leisure.” With media home prices hitting $650,000 and the region seeing a shortage of roughly 320,000 housing units by 2030, the editorial board calls for immediate action.
What kind of action, one might ask? “Everything! Housing subsidies, requirements for affordable units in new developments, promotion of employer-sponsored housing projects — they’re all critical to closing the gap between what the workforce earns and what developers collect.”
Pointing to efforts in Arlington and Montgomery counties, which other entities in the region are eyeing cautiously as examples for housing policy reform, the board concludes, “No pain, no gain. Much-needed housing supply won’t build itself.”
FULL STORY: The D.C. region needs more housing. The time to act is now.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.