Here's our roundup of "must-read" posts from the week:
Since May 26, a day after George Floyd was killed, people have been taking to the streets to protest police brutality against Black people. And while DC became the epicenter for a lot of news, folks across the region's suburbs also put their feet to the pavement, as GGWash's Dan Reed reports.
Two planners make a plea to their industry to talk about race and the impact of historic discriminatory urban design practices.
Oh yeah, did you remember we had primary elections in DC and Maryland? Yep, that happened. We also have DC's Ward 2 special elections coming up on June 16. Does this race offer us a glimpse into what would have happened with ranked choice voting?
Meanwhile, Tysons is outpacing its housing goals, and some cities in Virginia are pushing for electric vehicles, starting with their own municipal fleets. Read on. March on.
All over the United States, people have taken to the streets to protest police brutality against Black people after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis last week. Many of these demonstrations have taken place in center cities, including here in downtown DC. Yet suburban communities in Maryland and Virginia have stepped up as well.
By Brittney Drakeford (Contributor), Ras Tafari Cannady II (Guest Contributor) • June 1, 2020
Historic discriminatory urban design practices, such as redlining and restrictive zoning, continue to degrade the health of communities of color. In order to build more equitable communities, planners must better understand and acknowledge this legacy of discrimination — and actively work to undo its persisting effects.
By David Alpert (Executive Director) • June 5, 2020
While Janeese Lewis George (whom GGWash endorsed) is celebrating her victory over incumbent Brandon Todd in DC’s northern Ward 4, we still don’t know who’s going to be the Democratic nominee for Ward 2, covering Georgetown to Logan Circle. Brooke Pinto and GGWash endorsee Patrick Kennedy are separated by just 187 votes with many ballots left to count.
As of the latest Progress Report on Tysons, 12,991 new homes had been built, nearly 1,000 were under construction, and 30,000 more were either approved or under review. At this pace, housing construction in Tysons is on track to exceed the plan’s goals well before 2050.
By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) • June 3, 2020
Faced with the dual threats of climate change and COVID-19, localities across Virginia are waking up to the danger posed by American society’s reliance upon combustion-fueled cars and beginning to look to electric vehicles (EVs) as a solution. In fact, industry leaders and government officials alike believe change must begin with governments’ own fleets first.
