Government contracts are filling the pockets of contractors in the Washington D.C. area and helping to create some of the nation's wealthiest neighborhoods.
This concentration of wealth through government contracts is especially clear in an area called Great Falls, where more than half of its households have an income above $250,000.
"Washingtonians now enjoy the highest median household income of any metropolitan area in the country, and five of the top 10 jurisdictions in America - Loudoun, Howard and Fairfax counties, and Falls Church and Fairfax City - are here, census data shows.
The signs of that wealth are on display all over, from the string of luxury boutiques such as Gucci and Tory Burch opening at Tysons Galleria to the $15 cocktails served over artisanal ice at the W Hotel in the District to the ever-larger houses rising off River Road in Potomac.
But nowhere is the region's wealth more concentrated than the place where Talwar purchased her 15,000-square-foot white-brick estate home: Great Falls, a once-rural enclave of about 15,000 residents 17 miles west of the White House."
Read the full story: Government dollars fuel wealth: D.C. enclaves reap rewards of contracting boom
The 'Suburban Decline' Narrative Is Overstated
While suburbs are changing, that doesn't mean they are declining, according to recently published research.
From robotaxis to robotrains: LA, DC weigh driverless transit
If approved, the projects will take years to implement and face financial and technical hurdles.
From SoHo to SoDoSoPa
How zoning made great neighborhoods illegal to build, and preordained gentrification.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
New BLM proposal would slash public comment periods, environmental protections
The proposed rewrite would also strip legal leverage from Tribal nations and state governments.
DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment
New York City's mayor plans to replace about 2,000 units of public housing with private, mixed-income housing.
All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move
The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello