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During June we mark a number of occasions, Pride, Juneteenth and also National Homeownership Month. As we honor and celebrate our rich history and diverse communities throughout the month of June, we also highlight the work the District is doing to address housing equity and affordability. This month’s Data Corner and several articles below focus on that work.
Stay tuned as future newsletters promise to be full of milestones and planning news. Please feel free to share with others, who can sign up here. In addition, you can follow our work on Twitter under @OPinDC.
Sincerely,
Anita Cozart
Interim Director, DC Office of Planning
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 The Rock Creek West Roadmap, released in December 2021, outlines how the District can achieve ambitious housing goals in Rock Creek West through leveraging housing tools, making targeted investments, and developing neighborhood plans. We invite you to review this update which highlights progress the District has made toward the 1,990 affordable housing unit goal for Rock Creek West.
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 The DC Upward Mobility Project is a new effort to align the District's programs, policies, and investments to help residents reach stability, followed by measures to boost mobility with the goal of reaching prosperity. The Office of Planning, in collaboration with Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Innovation, partnered with the Urban Institute, affected residents and community-based organizations on this project. Together we created the draft DC Upward Mobility Action Plan which introduces an updated approach to boosting mobility areas: housing, financial wellbeing, and workforce development and adult education.
The action plan is available for public comment. For more information, visit upwardmobility.dc.gov.
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 On June 9th, Mayor Bowser and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development kicked off the Black Homeownership Strike Force by announcing the members who will serve on the committee and work to identify actionable recommendations to increase and support homeownership for Black residents of the District of Columbia.
The Strike Force is charged with developing recommendations to address the following:
- Increase access to homeownership for longtime Black residents of the District of Columbia; and
- Support wealth-building through homeownership through, for example, programs that enable homeowners to maintain their homes, increase their property value, and maintain affordability of their home in an increasingly expensive market.
The charge also includes providing recommendations for uses of a $10 million Black Homeownership Fund proposed in Mayor Bowser’s Fair Shot budget and creating a goal for increasing the number of Black homeowners in DC by 2030. The Strike Force’s recommendations are due in October 2022.
The Strike Force, co-chaired by OP’s Interim Director Anita Cozart, is made up of government and public experts in housing and financial counseling, lending/underwriting, real estate development and services, as well as representatives from the faith-based, senior, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities and advocates and representatives that address social and racial equity. To learn more about the Black Homeownership Strike Force, including providing feedback or suggestions for the Strike Force to consider, please visit blackhome.dc.gov or email homeownership@dc.gov.
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A new resource from Urban Institute housing experts examines how reforms to zoning and land use policy can improve housing affordability and racial equity across communities. The feature describes how zoning affects housing availability and how that influences the ability of people with different incomes, races, ethnicities, and other backgrounds to live in communities that best meet their needs. Similarly, the District has made critical land use policy reforms to realize the goal of 36,000 new housing units by 2025, with 12,000 of those affordable. In 2019, we set the first-in-the nation affordable housing goals by neighborhood. We codified those goals in our updated Comprehensive Plan to begin to remedy the historic inequity in affordable housing distribution across our city.
During the past year, we have initiated zoning reforms to remove longstanding barriers to expanding the housing supply and providing more affordable housing. Key reforms include:
- Increased density along transit corridors
- Expanding inclusionary zoning and increasing affordable set-asides in high-opportunity areas
- Making it easier to build accessory apartments in more areas throughout the District
- Working with faith-based institutions to rezone properties for affordable housing
- Amended zoning regulations to remove burdens to converting office buildings to residential use
We look forward to working with the Zoning Commission, stakeholders and residents on the adoption and implementation of these reforms. Learn more about how OP is applying a racial equity lens to zoning and development review activities at Racial Equity, Zoning and Development Review FAQs.
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The boundaries of the of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) and Single-member Districts (SMDs) of the District of Columbia – as well as the boundaries of the eight wards – are updated every ten years, based on the results of the latest decennial census.
Maps of the recently adopted new ANC and SMD boundaries are now available at: planning.dc.gov/2023-anc-smd-boundaries. These new boundaries will take effect on January 1, 2023.
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 Mayor Bowser's Infrastructure Task Force's Transportation Innovation Subcommittee is requesting community input on what transformational transportation changes they would like to see in the District, especially in the North Capitol corridor and along the neighborhoods touching I-295. The Subcommittee held a community discussion on June 22nd, which can be viewed at here. Share your thoughts through the survey at DC Build Back Better Infrastructure Task Force!
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The Streets for People Initiative launched in 2022 to temporarily retrofit downtown streets, alleys, sidewalks, curb space, and parks in ways that bring economic vitality back to Central Washington. Streets for People promotes racial equity by featuring the work of local artists, cultural organizations, and businesses that focus on Black, Indigenous, and communities of color.
There are several upcoming events in the downtown area including:
- Check out Tunes in the Triangle, a free concert series, every Wednesday this summer in Milian Park at 5 PM
- Dupont Circle’s See You At the Circle Concert Series continues on July 9th at 5:30 PM. Come listen to Michael Bowie Presents DC Jazz All Stars
- Art Walk Dupont will return on July 21st and on the third Thursday of each month, featuring Dupont Circle arts community and local businesses
- TriFit Fitness offers free yoga classes every Tuesday and free Pilates classes every Wednesday in Farragut Square through the end of July
Get more information on Streets for People activities.
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Welcome to OP’s Urban Design Corner, where we share interesting tidbits about urban design every month. This month, in recognition of Juneteenth, we want to highlight how we can promote racial equity though urban design.
Urban design focuses on ways to improve our built environment — a city’s streets, buildings and public spaces — by shaping positive impacts to and relationships with all the people who inhabit and use these spaces. In particular, the design of our public spaces plays a critical role in promoting racial equity and social justice and a culture of belonging. , As community members, designers, and/or government officials, we have a responsibility to address racial inequities head on to provide an opportunity for truly equitable public spaces to take hold.
Here are are several steps we can take to advance racial equity and social justice in the planning and design of our city and its public spaces:
- Engage Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) architects and designers in the design of public and community spaces.
- Cultivate BIPOC voices with the knowledge and tools to influence the design of public spaces in their neighborhoods and communities.
- Understand that design alone is insufficient to address the systemic nature of racism in our public spaces; real change must incorporate the re-evaluation of institutions, policies, and cultural values that impact public spaces and our behavior in them.
For more information on the District’s commitment to racial equity, check out the following websites:
Source: Public Space Activation and Stewardship Guide
Physical elements that make up the Streetscape are organized into clear areas or zones, such as the amenity area which most often includes plantings and furnishings, such as street trees, benches, and lighting; the area for circulation, also commonly referred to as the pedestrian-through zone or sidewalk; and the tenant area, which is sometimes referred to as the building frontage zone, where outdoor dining, awnings, retail door clearances and other building elements can take place.
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H Street Festival Atlas Performing Art Center, 2019
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Walter Reed Neighborhood Planning with Residents
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The Draft Congress Heights Small Area Plan is available for public review and comment through July 30, 2022. Visit the Congress Heights Small Area Plan page to download the draft plan and information on how to share your feedback.
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Learn more and get involved in our community planning projects:
OP in the Community
Join us at the following events where OP staff will be available to answer any questions and share information about OP’s work:
- July 6 – Tunes in the Triangle at Milian Park – 4:45-6:45pm
- July 9 – See You In the Circle Concert Series at Dupont Circle – 4:45-7:15pm
- July 12 – TriFit at Farragut Square Park – 4:45-6:30pm
- July 13 – Wisconsin Ave Community Walk starting at Tenleytown Metro – 5-7:30pm
- July 16 – Wisconsin Ave Community Walk starting at Friendship Heights Metro – 10am -12:30pm
- July 16 – Tenleytown Bastille Day Event at Fessenden Park – 3-5pm
- July 21 – Art Walk Dupont at Q Street and Connecticut Avenue NW – 5:15-7:45pm
- July 27 – Congress Heights Small Area Plan Mayoral Hearing at RISE Demonstration Center – 6-8pm
- July 29 – TriFit at Farragut Square Park – 4:45-6:30pm
- July 30 – Open Streets Ward 7 along Benning Road NE, between Minnesota Avenue NE and E Capitol Street NE – 9am-1pm
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