District of Columbia

The 495 Express Lanes opened in Virginia in November 2012 and have yet to meet ridership projections. That might not be a problem when built by the public sector, but the road is a $1.4 billion investment by the Australian firm Transurban.

February 28, 2014 - WAMU

Recent reports have revealed weaknesses in the big box business model. Will Wal-Mart’s new urban stores be as successful as its outdated model?

February 21, 2014 - PlannersWeb

D.C. mayoral candidates are making big promises about easing parking restrictions on Sunday in response to reports that churches are fleeing the capital for locations in Maryland due to difficulties with parking.

February 20, 2014 - Washington City Paper

During Tregoning's seven years at the helm of the Washington, D.C. Office of Planning, she pushed the city to adopt smart-growth policies touching all aspects of life--not just land use, but transportation, the economy, and more.

February 18, 2014 - Elevation DC

Tenant-owned apartment buildings are rare in the District of Columbia, but are a key tool in preserving affordable homes in our quickly growing city. Here, a look at two--and one group that helps make them happen.

February 12, 2014 - Elevation DC

Reflecting a growing desire by seniors to live at home and stay in their lifelong neighborhoods, so-called ‘senior villages” are marshaling support and resource networks so seniors around the country can age in place.

February 11, 2014 - The Washington Post

Harriet Tregoning recently announced the end of her seven-year tenure as planning director of Washington D.C. Called by some the “futurist-in-chief,” Tregoning will head to HUD, where she’ll head the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.

February 7, 2014 - Capital Business - The Washington Post

For the first time in over 50 years, streetcars are on their way back to the nation’s capital, where long-term, the city will build 37 miles of tracks. D.C. planners are citing Portland as the model for an expected rush of development investment.

January 29, 2014 - The Washington Post

Is there a relationship between carless households and density of college graduates? Derek Thompson of The Atlantic connected the dots using Michael Sivak's latest 'peak car' study and saw a relationship between the two variables.

January 29, 2014 - The Atlantic

The prevailing wisdom is that as a neighborhood gentrifies, long-time, low income residents are forced to move out because of rising rents, i.e. displacement. Two studies from Columbia University and the Federal Reserve draw different conclusions.

January 26, 2014 - NPR

After a decade of phenomenal growth and transformation, a survey of D.C. residents reveals widespread agreement on neighborhood improvement, but also concern that the changes are only benefiting the city's affluent residents.

January 23, 2014 - The Washington Post

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recently approved a Regional Transportation Priorities Plan that focuses on improving existing systems. A lot of planning remains to decide which projects get built.

January 22, 2014 - Washington Post

Following on the well-publicized heals of its posthumous Gold Award honor for Julia Morgan, the American Institute of Architects recently announced its complete roster of 2014 Honor Awards.

January 16, 2014 - The American Institute of Architects

Adding 1,100 people every month, Washington D.C. is in the midst of one of the nation’s most powerful examples of population growth. A recently developed heat map shows where supply is being built to meet the new demand.

January 15, 2014 - Greater Greater Washington

Many of America's national treasures sit in low lying areas of D.C. that are vulnerable to extreme floods (it was built atop a tidal plain, after all). With such floods likely to increase, planners and engineers are devising protection plans.

January 1, 2014 - NPR

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, many partiers will turn to public transit to get home after a night of New Year's revelry. But beware, there is such a thing as being too drunk to ride the rails, warns D.C.'s Metro system.

December 31, 2013 - The Washington Post

In what might be viewed as a transit version of "fix-it-first", Metro will focus on alleviating congestion within the existing system rather than pursue costly regional expansions. Plans for ten new stations and a new tunnel are being considered.

December 21, 2013 - The Washington Post

It's been 21 years (and counting) since D.C. developed plans to build the Metropolitan Branch Trail's eight mile northern segment. The delayed project threatens the city's goal of increasing the proportion of biking and walking trips to 25 percent.

December 20, 2013 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

On a dark and cold December night, D.C. residents celebrated the delivery of a holiday gift a half-century in the making when a gleaming red streetcar was lowered into place along the city's new line for testing.

December 16, 2013 - The Washington Post

The Rose Green Cities Fund has purchased an affordable housing complex in a gentrifying area of D.C., not to capitalize on rising prices but to protect affordable ones. Unlikely, you say? The Fund's mission is to preserve affordable housing.

December 12, 2013 - The Washington Post