District of Columbia

D.C. to Push the Envelope of Sustainability With 'Living Building' Project

Already an urban leader in sustainability with one of the most stringent green building laws in the country, Washington D.C. announced last week that it will create the city’s first “living building” as part of the Sustainable D.C. Budget Challenge.

December 17, 2012 - The Washington Post

George Washington Bashes America's First Starchitect

A letter written by George Washington that is set to be auctioned by Christie's details the founding father's conflicting views of Pierre Charles L’Enfant, diva designer of the District of Columbia.

December 7, 2012 - The Washington Post

GSA Proposes a Trade for D.C.'s Unloved Hoover Building

The FBI may get the new building it's been clamoring for, and developers may get a prime opportunity on D.C.'s most prestigious avenue, if a recent proposal by the GSA comes to pass. But what will happen to one of the city's last Brutalist buildings?

December 5, 2012 - The Washington Post

D.C. Debates How to Clean its Storm Water

The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority wants to revise a settlement reached eight years ago with environmental groups that would have seen the agency build three huge tunnels to manage storm water runoff. The Authority would like to build green systems.

December 4, 2012 - The Washington Post

D.C. Updates its Zoning Code to the Delight of Some, and Horror of Others

Washington D.C. is embarking on the first update to its zoning code since 1958. In advance of consideration by the city's Zoning Commission next spring, controversy has erupted around - you guessed it - parking!

December 3, 2012 - The Washington Post

What subprime crisis? Affordable houses are everywhere.

A Tiny-House Model Community Sprouts in D.C.

While cities like New York and San Francisco consider ways to incentivize the development of micro apartments, a Northeast Washington neighborhood has become home to an experiment in small house production.

November 28, 2012 - The Washington Post

D.C. Limits Parking to Promote Bicycling and Transit

As part of a broader effort to encourage less vehicular traffic city-wide, D.C. is expanding permit parking and reducing on-street parking in some of the city's most crowded neighborhoods. Not all are happy with the changes, reports Tim Craig.

November 27, 2012 - The Washington Post

Neither Snow Nor Rain Can Keep D.C. Bicyclists off the Roads

As colder temperatures and adverse weather descend on the District of Columbia, Ashley Halsey III finds that the city's emerging bicycling culture endures.

November 26, 2012 - The Washington Post

Plenty of Reasons Not to Raise the Roofline in D.C.

Drawing inspiration from Paris and Barcelona, Kaid Benfield offers his take on the recent controversy surrounding height limits in the nation's capital, enumerated point-by-point against arguments over capacity, density, affordability, and beyond.

November 21, 2012 - NRDC Switchboard

The Kickstarter of Commercial Development Takes Flight

Two D.C. developers are giving people the power to finance development in their own communities, paving the way for a new, democratized approach to commercial real estate investment, Emily Badger reports.

November 19, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Scaling Up the Local Food Movement

Small farmers generally sell their wares at farmers markets rather than to grocery stores or institutions. But two entrepreneurs in Virginia are seeking to change that by creating a food hub to aggregate, process, grow, and promote local produce.

November 14, 2012 - Grist

NCPC to Study Relaxing D.C. Building Height Limits

In response to a formal request from Congress, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has agreed to study potential changes to D.C.'s Height of Buildings Act of 1910, a step that could result in the eventual change of the controversial law.

November 8, 2012 - The Washington Post

Would Building an Outer Beltway Around D.C. Save the Planet?

Some highway advocates in the suburbs surrounding Washington, DC think that building an outer Beltway through Northern Virginia will be beneficial to the planet. Others disagree.

November 3, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

Too Ugly to Preserve?

As D.C.'s J. Edgar Hoover Building reaches the end of its 40 years of service as the headquarters of the FBI, one of the city's last examples of Brutalist architecture is getting little love from preservationists as discussion begin over its fate.

October 29, 2012 - The Washington Post

For DC: Out with the Old, In with the Young

New census data reveals that at the same time Washington D.C. drew a record number of young adults, those over 55 left the city in large numbers. As a result, over the past three years, the city's median age has fallen by a full six months.

October 26, 2012 - The Washington Post

Tysons: An Economic Threat to Washington D.C.?

A few miles west of the District of Columbia, Tysons (formerly Tysons Corner) in Fairfax County is emerging as an economic powerhouse. Will this Virginia community overtake the Nation’s Capital?

October 23, 2012 - The Washington Post

Dismantling D.C.'s Myth of Unaffordability

Katie Pearce discusses the surprising findings of a new study from the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology that evaluates why it can be more affordable to live in an “expensive” city.

October 21, 2012 - Streetsblog D.C.

Housing Crunch Threatens D.C.’s Thriving Economy

In the next 20 years, the D.C. area is expected to have nearly 3 million job openings. With the resulting demand for new, diverse and more affordable housing outpacing supply, some fear that the city’s housing deficit will derail its robust economy.

October 19, 2012 - Greater Greater Washington

What Happens When Transit Doesn't Bring Expected Development

Just outside of D.C., the Capitol Heights Metro station sits among empty parcels with brown grass and tall weeds, as the economic development that was to accompany the station never materialized. Will a proposed Wall-Mart come to the area's rescue?

October 18, 2012 - The Washington Post

A Push to Turn a Historic Hospital into a Town Center in D.C.

A year after the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed its doors, a mix of uses - from embassies to schools to a town center - are being envisioned for the 110-acre campus.

October 15, 2012 - The Washington Post

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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