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

Testimony to the Committee on Economic Development and Housing on DHCD and DMPED Performance Oversight

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Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG). The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization working locally in the Washington, DC metropolitan region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies and investments needed to make those communities flourish.
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McDuffie Bill Would Require Affordable Housing in Public-Land Development

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The city has taken a couple of stabs at solutions to the increasing unaffordability of housing in the District. Mayor Vince Gray pledged last monthto spend $187 million on affordable housing projects—a move in the right direction, but not one that will make new private developments any more affordable. The city's inclusionary zoning policy requires new developments above a certain size to set aside some of their units for low-income residents, but there are plenty of exceptions and the program has been slow to take off.
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Testimony to DC Council Committee on Finance and Revenue: Support for the Truth in Affordability Reporting Act of 2013

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Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. We are a regional organization based in the District of Columbia focused on ensuring transportation and development decisions are made with genuine community involvement and accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas.
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Accessory Apartments & Corner Stores: What you should know about the DC Zoning Proposals

Accessory Apartments & Corner Stores: What you should know about the DC Zoning Proposals

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ACCESSORY APARTMENTS: Issue heard on Nov. 6, regarding Subtitle D: Residential House (R) Zones: Allow one accessory unit in single family residential zones; Allow accessory apartment in owner-occupied home or existing accessory building (e.g. carriage house or garage) with access through alley or side yard, special exception for any construction or additoin
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Redeveloping McMillan is the only way to save it

Redeveloping McMillan is the only way to save it

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At a recent public hearing, neighbors of McMillan Sand Filtration Site renewed calls to make it a park. But the only way that can happen is by developing part of it as a neighborhood, and it's up to the DC Council to make it happen. Rendering of the future McMillan Park. Residents
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