Category: News

CSG in the News: MoCo residents polarized over proposed workforce housing legislation

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

March 11, 2025 | Ginny Bixby | Bethesda Magazine

Supporters who spoke at the hearing in general praised the legislative package’s aim to increase the county’s housing supply and create realistic homeownership opportunities for more county residents.

“It’s a plain and simple fact that our county needs more housing,” said Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a Washington, D.C. metro region nonprofit focused on housing affordability and transit access. “People want housing that they can afford, and they do not want to have to spend their lives sitting in traffic just to get to work.”

Read the full story here.

Release: This is smart growth! Creating a vibrant, walkable Oakton, Fairfax VA

Release: This is smart growth! Creating a vibrant, walkable Oakton, Fairfax VA

Posted on by Cheryl Cort

CSG and allies support transformation of the old AT&T office building and its acres of parking. CSG is joined by the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Fairfax Families for Safe Streets, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Nature Forward, Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance, and YIMBYs of NoVA.

RELEASE: CSG and Montgomery for All support the More Housing N.O.W. Package

RELEASE: CSG and Montgomery for All support the More Housing N.O.W. Package

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

The Coalition for Smarter Growth and Montgomery for All are proud to support the More Housing N.O.W. package to increase housing options in sustainable locations and support our workforce and first-time homebuyers. Building more housing along our corridors, a central piece of this package, will help more people afford homes in Montgomery County and live close to jobs, transit, and amenities.

CSG in the News: Jawando urges County Council to pause attainable housing plan

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

The Coalition for Smarter Growth, a nonprofit that, according to its website, advocates for “walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities” in the Washington, D.C. area, released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying the organization is “deeply disappointed” by Jawando’s comments.

“Smaller, multi-family units like those proposed in the Attainable Housing Strategies recommendations can be built and sold more affordably than single-family detached homes. Expanding housing choices also offers creative pathways and opportunities to produce subsidized affordable homes, a feat that is financially prohibitive to accomplish with single-family detached homes,” the nonprofit wrote.

RELEASE: CSG Response to Councilmember Jawando’s Comments on Attainable Housing (MoCo)

RELEASE: CSG Response to Councilmember Jawando’s Comments on Attainable Housing (MoCo)

Posted on by Carrie Kisicki

We are deeply disappointed by Councilmember Will Jawando’s statements on the Attainable Housing Strategies Initiative (AHSI). His statements fail to recognize the reality of our county’s housing crisis and lack of sufficient housing options, and do not address the full range and potential of the AHSI recommendations.

CSG in the News: County board split over possible I-495 toll lanes from Springfield into Maryland

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

“That the additional capacity of the HOT lanes would generate more traffic trying to travel to and from the lanes via connecting roads like Route 1, Telegraph and Van Dorn wouldn’t be surprising,” Bill Pugh, a senior policy fellow at the organization, said in a statement released by CSG after the committee meeting.

RELEASE: VDOT briefs flawed I-495 Southside Study to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

“In addition to ignoring induced demand and relying on flawed traffic models, VDOT’s study is compromised at the outset by its ‘conclusions-first’ approach,” said Pugh. “The agency’s stated project purpose is ‘to extend and provide continuity of the Express Lanes system’ and their evaluation criteria reinforce this predetermined conclusion. They have also excluded viable alternatives from study.”

RELEASE: New Transit Access to Opportunity Data for the Seven Highest-Ridership Cities

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

“The Washington DC Metro’s strategy of increasing frequency, expanding service with 24-hour routes, and providing low-income fare passes is working,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth in Washington DC. “TransitCenter’s updated Transportation Equity Dashboard shows that the average DC area resident has much-improved access to jobs. Alexandria’s new DASH Bus network and free fares also contributed to much-improved access, with both systems showing the greatest benefits for Black and lower-income workers. This report shows the value of investing in Metro and our local bus systems, including the importance of finding 35% more bus operating funds for Metro to implement its Visionary Bus Network.”