The weekly newsletter circulated by my representative on the D.C. Council, Jack Evans, contains this personal plea for community members to attend an upcoming zoning hearing regarding a mixed-use redevelopment of the O Street Market: O Street Market needs support from residents The DC Zoning Commission will hold a Public Hearing on the O Street […]
Who Wants to Live in Pabst City?
Soon, Pabst-loving hipsters will be able to live in the buildings where the beer they saved was once brewed. Founded in Milwaukee in 1844, the Pabst Brewing Company’s flagship beer earned its name during the 1893 Columbian World’s Exposition in Chicago, where it was awarded the blue ribbon as America’s best beer. However, economic realities […]
Slums in Cape Town and Beyond
Part 5 of my South Africa series. To begin this week’s final post on South Africa, let’s consider this satellite image of most of metropolitan Cape Town, population roughly 2.9 million. This map depicts an area some 40 miles across. Next, this map of the economic geography of the city from a city planning document […]
Government-Built Sprawl
Part 3 of my South Africa Series The lack of progress bridging the social divides in South Africa has not been due to political will. In addition to a variety of political rights (many which Americans will be familiar with from our Bill of Rights), the South African Constitution includes workers’ rights to join unions, […]
Ballston Examined
I completed this essay for the final assignment for my urban design class. The assignment was to conduct an analysis of this block adjacent the Ballston Metro Station in Arlington County, Virginia. My study area is part of the “Ballston-Rosslyn Corridor,” a nationally-known example of smart growth. Along the corridor, the county has added roughly […]
‘Leapfrog’ Sprawl In West Virginia
Not many Washington, D.C. area residents are familiar with Berkeley County, West Virginia. Over a 100 mile drive from downtown Washington, the county isn’t even served by a highway that reaches the city — residents must take I-81 north to I-70, or south to I-66, to get to the District. However, they may be surprised […]
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 […]