Washington D.C.'s New Communities program has failed to live up to its titular promise, according to a new report released by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
"In short," writes Aaron Wiener, "the New Communities program has failed to produce new communities."
The logic of the 2004 program spearheaded by then-Mayor Anthony Williams made sense, according to Wiener: "The city would both address the chronic problems that accompany concentrations of poverty and minimize the displacement of low-income residents by allowing them to return to the sites of their former homes after redevelopment."
However, "the execution, amid poor planning and a recession that slowed development countrywide, has left many residents frustrated."
Enter the report commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and released to the D.C. Council, which traces the struggles of the New Communities initiative "to unrealistic expectations that led to structural flaws in the program's design."
As for what's next, the report proposes solutions that "involve a strategic reshuffling of priorities to ensure that housing gets built, even at the possible expense of some of the program's ideals." Moreover, the D.C. Housing Authority, which oversees the city's public housing, has promised to "begin working with our city partners as the details in the recommendations are ironed out and as our commitment to our families is fulfilled."
Read the full story: Report: D.C. Should Redevelop Public Housing Without Replacing Units First
D.C. Housing Authority Plans to Refinance Thousands of Homes
Facing a difficult financial situation, the authority plans to refinance about a third of its homes.
Another Approach to Affordable Housing
A new approach to affordable housing attempts to overcome the traditional approaches of supply-side economics and government-funded investments and extractions.
How the Centerpiece of D.C.'s Affordable Housing Efforts Became a Catastrophe
In an in-depth article, Robert Samuels examines the "oversights, missteps and missed opportunities" that have turned the New Communities Initiative - imagined as "the centerpiece of the District’s affordable-housing efforts" - into a train wreck.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority