Here's our roundup of "must-read" posts from the week:
Happy Saturday, folks, and congratulations on making it through a very long election week. Here at GGWash, we're taking a break from the national stories to focus on the local elections that matter right here at home. Check out our roundup to see where urbanist candidates won in DC.
Hard though it may be to believe, things that are not the election are happening too. Virginia's new rail authority, a planning body that will manage the state's rail infrastructure, met for the first time last week. The group will be able to make long-range transportation plans for the state outside the political process.
Over in Montgomery County, the council overrode County Executive Marc Elrich's veto of a bill providing tax credits to developers building apartments over Metro stations. Proponents hope the bill will address the county's housing shortage while encouraging transit-centric growth.
Speaking of transit-centric growth, take a look inside the task force that crafted a plan to transform Tysons into a walkable urban center as the plan marks its 10th anniversary.
Finally, have you noticed that there are a lot of LGBTQ urbanists? Correspondent Wyatt Gordon explores the ways in which the urbanist and queer communities are kindred spirits.
By Canaan Merchant (Elections Committee) • November 3, 2020
Late last year, the commonwealth announced they would purchase Right of Way from private railroad companies across the state to speed up and expand service. That means fewer barriers to improved service or delays from waiting on freight trains to move through an area before the passenger train can move. Now the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) the board set up to take control of the new resources available to the commonwealth and roll out the upcoming changes met for the first time on October 26.
By Mike English (Guest Contributor) • November 2, 2020
On October 27 the Montgomery County Council voted 7-2 to override the County Executive’s veto on Bill 29-20, which will provide property tax incentives for developers to create high rises on WMATA owned land by exempting them from all property taxes for their first 15 years, though the bill itself sunsets in 12. While the terms of the bill were dry and technical, the debate around it highlighted the severe housing needs in Montgomery County and the tension surrounding development and growth policies.
By Emily Hamilton (Correspondent) • November 3, 2020
In 2010, Fairfax County — one of the highest-income counties in the country — adopted a plan to redevelop its Tysons area as a walkable urban place. A task force appointed to create recommendations for redevelopment in Tysons played an important role in shaping the comprehensive plan for Tysons that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors ultimately adopted. The Tysons Land Use Task Force provides a potential model for permitting more housing in other expensive, suburban jurisdictions.
By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) • November 2, 2020
For the vast majority of queer people, cities serve as the backdrop for the first time they find safety, community, and romance, but do we queers only flock to urban spaces for the relative acceptance they provide, or does our love affair go deeper — to the unique ways cities allow us to live, move, and connect.
