As part of an Urban–Greater DC series highlighting the voices of community changemakers confronting equity issues, DC Tenants Union organizer Roger Williams discusses the Reclaim Rent Control Campaign, calls to cancel rent, and the ways stronger rent control legislation could affect DC renters.
If behavioral science holds true, small, reproducible changes in policy—like more advance notice of rent increases—may have significant implications for housing affordability for renters, but we need more evidence to be sure.
THRIVE East of the River, a multipartner collaborative in DC, is providing direct cash and food assistance in Ward 8, where residents have experienced higher death and unemployment rates from COVID-19 than other areas of the district. Three lessons from THRIVE can serve as building blocks for other community relief collaborations.
In the first comprehensive study of DC public prekindergarten applicants and application patterns, we demonstrate that pre-K lotteries for 3- and 4-year-olds differ substantially, both in families’ application choices and in outcomes. Our findings identify equity gaps and form the basis for understanding the use of a centralized lottery for equitable prekindergarten access.
