My post a few weeks back on possible reforms to the Washington, D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission system stimulated some interesting discussion on the blog. In response, my former Shaw neighbor Sarah Livingston (editor of the 7th Streeter neighborhood newsletter) put me in touch with David Holmes, and elected commissioner with ANC 6A on Capitol Hill. […]
Proposals for Reforming D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
Summer is always a good time to blog about things that have been bouncing around my head for a couple months, or in this case, years. The topic: reforming Washington, D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, or ANCs. The ANC system was created in 1976 as part of the D.C. Home Rule Charter. In order to provide […]
Where the (Brick) Sidewalk Ends
I was in Harvard Square one evening last fall when I light rain began falling. A girl dashed out of a convenience store doorway, hurrying for an unknown reason. Turning the corner she abruptly slipped and fell on the brick sidewalk. No quicker than she had fallen she jumped up, unhurt, to continue on her […]
What a Difference 40 Years Makes
After the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil disturbances erupted in over 100 cities across the U.S. In Washington, D.C., a civil disorder started at the intersection of 14th and U Streets Northwest, when an unknown individual threw a brick through a plate glass window. Last night, thousands of people celebrated the […]
D.C.’s Black Majority to End in 2014
Given demographic trends since 2000, the District of Columbia will no longer have a Black majority somewhere around 2014. That’s what I found after completing a simple projection using U.S. Census population data from the 1990 and 2000 census, and 2006 and 2007 American Community Survey population estimates. No matter the approach (trends since 1990 […]
What Neighborhoods Will Be The Next Hot Spots?
In a splashy cover story this week, the quarterly magazine sent to thousands of local business leaders this week considers which Washington, D.C. neighborhoods will be the next “hot spots.” The story appears in OnSite, a quarterly glossy magazine sent to subscribers of the Washington Business Journal. With a password-only website, the story’s only readers […]
District Bike Sharing Launches
The much-awaited D.C. bike sharing program SmartBike has launched with ten locations in Downtown and Midcity neighborhoods. The public can sign up at SmartBikeDC.com for a card enabling them to rent bikes for up to three hours from these stations between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The annual subscription costs $40. According […]