Here's our roundup of must-read posts from the week:
As the weather warms up, transportation alternatives like e-scooters and e-bikes are more and more enticing. The great news: when it comes to transportation methods, it's not an either/or choice. E-scooters can be integrated with transit to make them work together, rather than in competition.
Another thing that might be on its way back: public spaces. Three months after the January attack on the Capitol, are public spaces making a comeback?
Next, we take a step back to the 19th century as a series by D. Taylor Reich explores the history of Arlington's Black population — and the people who drove them out.
Displacement isn't problem confined to history. Today, residents of Barry Farm have been scattered and are getting few answers as plans stall for the public housing complex's redevelopment.
Finally, when it comes to getting affordable housing in DC's wealthiest neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park, there's not a lot of progress to report. But one program has seen some limited success. We take a deep dive into inclusionary zoning, how it works, and what makes it unique.
E-scooters have definitely become popular in cities across the US. But, in order for scooters to truly be an essential component of the public transportation system, they need to complement other transit options not compete with them.
By Caitlin Rogger (Interim Executive Director) • April 7, 2021
For more than a year, public life in DC has been gradually drained. First COVID-19 made it unsafe to congregate or interact with people outside our “bubbles.” Over summer 2020, authorities responded to widespread demonstrations by shutting off access to some of our most iconic public squares and parks. On January 6, the physical foundations of our cherished democratic institutions were egregiously assaulted, prompting even greater restrictions to places like the Capitol.
Arlington County was once home to a community of former slaves so prosperous that tours were given to foreign dignitaries as evidence of America’s racial progress. Today, just about the only physical trace of Freedman’s Village is a plaque on a highway overpass. Some of the descendants of that community remain in Arlington today, but for others, exile has been made permanent.
By Nena Perry-Brown (Editorial Board) • April 7, 2021
Although the DC Housing Authority’s (DCHA) redevelopment of Southwest’s Greenleaf Gardens community is starting off with some promising signs of transparency, the agency is still leaving a lot to be desired when it comes to the plans for some of the other public housing developments under its purview. One of the more obvious examples is just two miles, or two Metro stops, away, in Barry Farm, from which over a hundred households have already been scattered and left wanting for more input on what will happen next.
