Urban renewal plans for Downtown D.C. and the Shaw neighborhood are all that's left of a mid-20th-century planning effort.
"As Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration continues to pursue policy changes that would help reach her goal of adding 36,000 housing units to the District by 2025, it is now tackling a pair of 50-year-old land-use plans it says act as impediments to development," reports Jan Banister.
More specifically, "submitted a proposal to the D.C. Council Jan. 24 to terminate the urban renewal plans for the Shaw and Downtown D.C. neighborhoods," according to Banister.
The two urban renewal plan targeted by Mayor Bowser are a legacy of planning efforts in D.C. during the 1950s and '60s, which produced 12 urban renewal plans. "Urban renewal in the District is often associated with the overhaul of Southwest D.C. that led to the displacement of minority communities and is widely considered a failure," explains Bowser.
A letter written by Mayor Bowser justifying the proposal to end the two urban renewal plans is quoted in the article. According to Bowser, the urban renewal plans pursue a more suburban approach to planning that is outdated in Washington, D.C. today.
D.C. Comprehensive Plan Update Needs Equity Improvements, Report Says
The new D.C. Office of Equity has produced an evaluation of proposed changes to the D.C. Comprehensive Plan.
The Foundational Myth of America's Interstate Highway System
The erroneous belief that the negative impacts of interstate highways are simply "unintended consequences" fails to demand accountability for the project's failures.
Comprehensive Plan Update Stokes Controversy in D.C.
Complex political dynamics are mustering for a showdown over D.C.'s comprehensive plan.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market Leans Into Pedestrian Infrastructure
After decades of debate, the market is testing a car ban in one of its busiest areas and adding walking links to the surrounding neighborhood.
The World’s Longest Light Rail Line is in… Los Angeles?
In a city not known for its public transit, the 48.5-mile A Line is the longest of its kind on the planet.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions