Category: District of Columbia

DC Region Growth Patterns Contribute to Emissions Problem

Washington DC – Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices, according to a team of urban planning researchers.

D.C. – Compilation of Inclusionary Zoning Regulations

D.C. – Compilation of Inclusionary Zoning Regulations

The following document represents a consolidated version of Title 11 DCMR Chapter 26 Inclusionary Zoning. The document has been compiled by the DC Office of Planning and does not represent official zoning text. This chapter established an Inclusionary Zoning Program that furthers the Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan by increasing the amount and expanding the geographic distribution of adequate, affordable housing available to current and future residents.

DC – Rhode Island Avenue Parking

WRN has worked extensively with community members around the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. We have conducted workshops, walking audits and developed a set of recommendations to make the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station more accessible to the community that it serves. We have also supported the detailed analysis conducted by D.C. Office of Planning which demonstrated that many more Metro riders could be served by improving walk, bicycle and bus access to the Metrorail station at the same cost of replacing the 387 commuter parking spaces.

DC – Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap: The Status of and Need for Dedicated Local Revenue for Affordable Housing Production and Preservation

DC – Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap: The Status of and Need for Dedicated Local Revenue for Affordable Housing Production and Preservation

“Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap” is a report on the status of dedicated local revenue sources for affordable housing production and preservation in the Washington, D.C. region. It provides guidance to area jurisdictions that have yet to implement a dedicated local revenue source. This report describes dedicated revenue sources that already exist and forecasts what type and size of dedicated revenue sources make sense for each jurisdiction. Nearly all new affordable housing for lower income households across the country is created through partnerships between government funding agencies and private for- and non-profit developers. The public funding role is crucial because constructing housing is almost always not financially feasible at the rents or mortgage payments that lower income households can afford to pay, especially in areas with high housing costs like the Washington, D.C., region. Legal restrictions that accompany this public investment ensure that this housing will remain affordable to lower income families for varying amounts of time.

DC – Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning Fact Sheet

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) policies require new and/or rehabilitated residential developments to include housing units affordable to low and moderate-income residents. In exchange, developers may receive non-monetary compensation—in the form of density bonuses—that reduce construction costs.

DC: USA Columbia Heights Parking & Access Recommendations

Given that the DC USA retail center will have substantially less retail sales space than could be supported by market demand, the conventional customer access strategy of driving and parking should be fully reconsidered. Several other facts point to the need to implement an urban strategy that better builds on the assets of the site location, and avoids its constraints.