If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen images like the one above before and chalked it up to a neat photoshop effect. However, a lot more than that separates Trey Ratcliff’s take on the Capitol Columns at the National Arboretum from my attempts. The image was produced through a process called High Dynamic Range Imaging. […]
Dreaming the Capital City
Should Washington reconsider its building height limit? Brookings scholar Christopher Leinberger sparked some heated debate after he suggested the city should raise the limit in February at an event at the Building Museum, and readers will remember I offered a few thoughts then. In general, I think the limit should be raised, albeit in a […]
Shaw Loves Blogs
The neighborhood blog directory outside.in has announced Shaw has the second most active neighborhood blog community in the country. Although DCist had a short item I thought it was worth noting the news. They claim their rankings are based on “total number of posts, total number of local bloggers, number of comments and Technorati ranking […]
Fixing Mount Vernon Square
This post is adapted from a class project I completed recently In the film Enemy of the State, two characters decide to rendezvous in Washington, D.C.’s Mount Vernon Square. However, instead of using Washington’s square, the filmmakers opted to shoot the scene in a square of the same name located in Baltimore. While I don’t […]
Analyzing D.C.’s Inclusionary Zoning
After years of wrangling between affordable housing advocates, policy wonks, and real estate interests, D.C. has finally adopted a commonly-used approach to creating affordable housing. Known as “inclusionary zoning,” the policy requires developers include units reserved for low and moderate-income families when developing large residential projects. In exchange, developers are allowed to increase the density […]
Describing D.C.’s ‘National Security Sprawl’
To Deborah Natsios, the September 11, 2001 attack on Washington ushered in a new epoch of national security sprawl. She traces the evolution of “war sprawl” in the region: the city’s circumferential Civil War forts, suburban WWII facilities, Cold War beltway and missile placements, and exurban defense industry office campuses. In Natsios’ account, the September […]
Interesting Freeway Interchanges of the Capital Region
American taxpayers have spent trillions of dollars building freeways since the passage of the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956. This network of freeways has re-shaped American cities, and arguably impacted the economy and culture of the country. While some enthusiasts find interest in the highway system’s endless strips of asphalt, for most […]