D.C. Regional Framework Emphasizes Equity, Connectivity

Writing in Greater Greater Washington, Ethan Goffman reports on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG)’s Region United Framework for 2030, a plan for the future development of the Washington, D.C. region that focuses on equity, transportation, housing, and climate and works to reduce sprawl.

According to Goffman, the updated framework reflects a more concerted focus on equity, the need for which was laid bare by the pandemic’s impact on the most vulnerable populations and essential workers. “While some planners advocated for including these workers before the pandemic, COVID’s disparate impact threw into sharp relief the need for a holistic view of sustainability and inclusion when planning built environments.”

The framework reflects growing support for transit oriented communities (TOC), an update on the traditional transit oriented development (TOD) that centers equity and includes a commitment to ensuring that low-income households aren’t priced out. The framework uses the COG’s Equity Emphasis Areas (EEAs) tool, which identifies “census tracts with high concentrations of low-income people and ‘traditionally disadvantaged racial and ethnic’ groups,” to target investments in transportation, housing, and climate resilience to the areas that need them most. “Beyond housing and transit, TOC requires a comfortable built environment, including safe street crossings, wide sidewalks, and vegetation.”