DC Residents Want Affordability Over ‘Character’

A poll of 500 Washington, D.C. residents found that most of the respondents expressed support for increased density and land use reforms that would accommodate more housing, with 81 percent expressing dissatisfaction with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s progress on housing access and affordability.

Alex Baca and Dean Howell outline the results of the survey in Greater Greater Washington (who, with the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors and the DC Association of Realtors, commissioned the study). They note that “Overall, young residents, women, and renters say that they are most affected by housing affordability, i.e., they feel as if they can’t afford living in the District. Renters, young residents, and older people of color are most likely to say that housing availability is a very big problem, i.e., they can’t find a home that they can afford, but believe if they could afford it, they could find a place.”

The authors note that over half of residents in all demographic groups supported allowing fourplexes in single-family zoned neighborhoods, but few have engaged with their public representatives. “People are supportive of more housing, and more housing that they can afford, but, for the most part, aren’t going to make much noise about it—because they expect their government to fix a known problem.”

Moreover, “A majority of D.C. residents believe that increasing housing development is more important than maintaining neighborhood character,” with 63 percent agreeing that “It's more important to lower housing costs by loosening certain land use regulations and zoning rules to increase housing development.”