As new construction favors single occupants and childless professionals, the capital's housing stock is increasingly boxing out families.
There are signs that D.C.'s housing stock is becoming less family-friendly. Mark Chambers writes, "According to an Urban Institute study, four and five bedroom units make up only eight and four percent of the homes in the city, respectively. Given that almost 12% of families that rent have four or more people, even the unsubsidized market for multi-bedroom rental homes is fairly tight."
Why is this happening? Developers can make greater profits catering to the professional demographic living in one- and two-person households. Building small but "luxury" units for them increases the rate of return on larger developments. At the same time, older buildings contain many of the units with three or more bedrooms. When they're redeveloped, one to two bedrooms becomes the norm.
"Finally, a more insidious and dangerous trend is appearing: language that implies the idea that families with children don't belong in neighborhoods with childless millennials and empty nester baby-boomers." Chambers advocates changes to the Comprehensive Plan to address the problem.
FULL STORY: Let’s make sure there are homes for families in DC
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.