Building strong, inclusive neighborhoods

Inclusive Neighborhoods
Photo by Lydia Thompson, Urban Institute

Every resident should benefit from economic growth. Our insights support economically vibrant neighborhoods, affordable housing, small businesses, and a better quality of life for all residents in the DC region. Read more about the challenges and potential solutions for creating strong, inclusive neighborhoods. 

A mother and son holding hands as they walk down a street.
Highlights

Five Practices for Expanding Housing Production for Households with Very Low Incomes

Based on Urban research, we suggest five practices to help local governments increase the production of affordable housing for households with very low incomes.
Image of a street corner
Highlights

Walkability Entails the Full Walking Experience, Not Just Access to Resources

Many measures of walkability boil it down to access to key destinations, but new Urban research expands the definition to include multiple measures of the walking experience.
Overlook of a city
Highlights

What’s the Key to an Equitable COVID-19 Recovery in DC?

As DC recovers from the pandemic, intentional, cross-sector effort is needed to correct inequities of the past and present.
Man working inside building
Highlights

Greater DC Region Nonprofits Created Cash Transfer Programs to Support Workers Excluded from Federal Pandemic Assistance

It’s imperative that philanthropies and local city and state governments consider whether direct cash transfers are part of the answer in securing economic justice for families with low incomes.
Row of houses
Highlights

DC’s Flexible Rent Subsidy Program Shows Promising Early Results

Flexible rent subsidies are one tool local governments are exploring to help families that are currently housed but remain one shock away from homelessness.
Row of townhouses
Highlights

Landlords Who Own Few Units Are a Crucial Piece in DC’s Affordable Housing Preservation Puzzle

The housing crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on not only renters’ struggles but also the financial challenges of landlords, with landlords who own fewer housing units being particularly at risk.
Colorful DC row houses
Highlights

Housing Is Hindering the Greater DC Region’s Prosperity. A New Tool Could Help.

A vibrant, equitable region needs housing that serves everyone.
DC skyline
Highlights

The Best of Urban–Greater DC in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic hit every corner of the country in 2020, and Washington, DC, was no exception.
"No job no rent" signs
Highlights

What Could Stronger Rent Control Mean for DC Residents?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout continues to drain families’ resources.
DC mural
Highlights

How Could Statehood Increase Equity for DC Residents?

On June 26, the US House of Representatives passed legislation to make the District of Columbia the 51st state by a 232–180 vote.
Leeroi Boker, a tenant leader at Hampshire Towers in Takoma Park, MD, stands outside his building.
Highlights

Can More Advanced Notice of Rent Increases Stabilize Rents?

With the COVID-19 crisis leaving millions of Americans out of work, many renters face the prospect of not being able to pay another month’s rent.
Urban architecture of Washington DC, USA. Residential multistory buildings of US capital at sunset.
Highlights

Innovative Models to Preserve Affordable Housing Are Even More Important in the Aftermath of COVID-19

The Washington Housing Initiative (WHI), launched by Federal City Council  in partnership with local real estate firm JBG Smit
header image
Highlights

The Best of Urban–Greater DC in 2019

Like nearly every year that preceded it, 2019 brought rapid growth and change for the Greater DC area.
header image
Highlights

How Faith Communities Are Addressing the DC Region’s Housing Challenges

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recently
header image
Highlights

Learning from Urban Redevelopment’s Failures to Build a More Inclusive DC

The Housing Act of 1949, part of Harry Truman’s Fair Deal, sought to ensure a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.