Affordable Housing

More than a decade after the Brookings Institution released the seminal Region Divided report, the Washington region is still divided, with parts of D.C. and the east side of the region not sharing in the prosperity of our economy.

Despite some progress in the last decade, many eastern communities continue to fall on the wrong side of the regional divide with slow job growth, poorly performing schools, high crime, and a devastating home foreclosure crisis. Meanwhile, even in wealthier communities throughout the region many families struggle to keep up with rising housing costs, a situation made even worse by the a lack of diversity in housing types and transit-oriented development.

Addressing this challenge is the most important mission of CSG. With our focus integrating the interconnected issues of land use, housing, and transportation, we are uniquely situated to address this divide through changes in infrastructure policies and our work in local communities across the region. Providing more housing options close to jobs in job-rich areas, creating incentives for jobs to be focused at underdeveloped Metro stations on the east side of the region, focusing businesses in transit-accessible locations, and linking affordable housing and transit, are among the key solutions.

Latest Happenings

CSG Testimony for Connecticut Avenue Development Guidelines

|
The revised Guidelines will help us meet the Comprehensive Plan goals of increasing housing, and improving the mix of uses, while ensuring building forms that integrate with the historic districts and foster a people-friendly streetscape around the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park Metro stations. 
Read More
CSG comments on Brookland-CUA Metro station proposed changes to transit facilities

CSG comments on Brookland-CUA Metro station proposed changes to transit facilities

|
September 22, 2023 by Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth Please accept this testimony on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the Washington, DC region to grow and provide
Read More

CSG in the News: Zoning Proposal for Housing is Front and Center as Alexandria City Council Meets Tonight in Public Session

|
Bill Pugh lives in Alexandria and is senior policy fellow with Coalition for Smarter Growth. “Would you go so far as to say we have a housing crisis?,” Zebra asked Pugh in a phone interview two days after the community forum. “Alexandria has a housing shortage like many jurisdictions,” said Pugh, “and it also has an affordability issue as well. Whether we call it a crisis or not, the data that was presented by the Urban Institute has clearly shown there’s not enough housing in the DC region on all income levels. And we see that in day-to-day examples. My kids attend ACPS schools and many of their teachers drive in from Prince William and Prince George’s counties because they can’t afford to live here."
Read More

Event Materials: The problem with parking mandates: what does Montgomery County have to gain from reform?

|
Thank you for joining the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Montgomery for All on August 28, 2023 for a conversation about how reforming minimum parking mandates can help us achieve our climate, housing, and equity goals.
Read More
Thank you for stepping up to help win a better Takoma Metro station

Thank you for stepping up to help win a better Takoma Metro station

|
CSG spent over 20 years tracking, reviewing, and weighing in on the various iterations of this important transit-oriented mixed-use housing development, which faced unrelenting opposition. Thank you for joining us in this campaign – your advocacy helped it get over the finish line!
Read More