Here's our roundup of must-read posts from the week:
We made it through another week, Washington, a couple of cicadas and one Comprehensive Plan heavier. That's right, in case you missed it, DC Council passed the Comprehensive Plan, the behemoth document that guides land use decisions in the District. Read about what made it into the Council's final version, and what comes next.
As the Comprehensive Plan lays out DC's vision, Silver Spring is getting its own. Planners are envisioning how Downtown Silver Spring might grow in the future, and many of those ideas are urbanist in nature... but not all of them.
Residents of the Greenleaf Gardens public housing complex in Southwest DC are having a hard time envisioning the future of their homes, as "build-first" redevelopment plans are called into question.
In Baltimore, low-income tenant advocacy groups marked a win after Mayor Brandon Scott vetoed legislation that would have promoted a security deposit alternative offered by a company some have called "predatory."
Finally, have you been avoiding Metro throughout the pandemic? A graphic showing how air is exchanged in a Metro car might change your mind.
By Libby Solomon (Writer and Editor) • May 18, 2021
DC Council has been working for years to update the Comprehensive Plan, DC’s enormous zoning and land-use document. On Tuesday, those years of work concluded in a unanimous vote on an update to the document, which dates back to 2006.
By Mike English (Guest Contributor) • May 19, 2021
The Montgomery County Planning Department recently wrapped up series of community conversations about the Silver Spring downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan. Most of the attendees were supportive of the plan and of a generally urbanist vision, including building dense housing and mixed-use development on such sites. However, a long-running tension about Silver Spring caused debate among attendees.
By Nena Perry-Brown (Editorial Board) • May 20, 2021
The DC Housing Authority selected a co-development team including Pennrose, EYA and Bozzuto, in November 2020, to redevelop the 15-acre Greenleaf Gardens housing community in Southwest. DCHA’s 180-day negotiation period with the co-development team is now in its last trimester. At this point, both of the build-first options previously identified for the redevelopment of Greenleaf Gardens are in doubt, and the powers that be are pushing for a different approach. What happened?
By Libby Solomon (Writer and Editor) • May 18, 2021
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott vetoed a controversial bill Monday afternoon that would have expanded the market for a “security deposit insurance” company tenant advocates have called “predatory.”
By Caitlin Rogger (Deputy Director) • May 17, 2021
Covid-cautious transit riders may breathe a sigh of relief this week, as WMATA shares this image to show how its ventilation system works to keep airflow moving on Metro rail cars.
