This evening the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hopefully approve a long range redevelopment plan for Tysons Corner. In a post at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network, I argue that the only sensible action is to raise density in Tysons to the point where it can begin to function like a genuine city, where walking and transit are as easy or easier than driving.

Image from draft Tysons plan.

Update: The Board approved the plan by 8-2 vote. – June 23

In a post at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network, I discuss why it is foolish to suggest that the District should divert money from infrastructure to social services, because infrastructure is an investment that pays off in terms of economic development, which in turn simultaneously reduces the need for social services while providing the city with the money it needs to pay for them.

With all the talk about the Silver and Purple lines, streetcars, and all the other exciting transit projects in the works around DC, it’s clear that we are in the midst of a major infrastructure investment. As I explain in today’s post at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network, that trend extends to the Mid-Atlantic region and all across America, with major new transit investments under way in cities such as Phoenix, Honolulu and Houston.

Beaches of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

From the founding fathers’ decision to name their federal city after George Washington, to WMATA’s neighborhood-defining station names such as Gallery Place and Virginia Square, to developer schemes like Penn Quarter, Washingtonians have never been shy about inventing names for places they deem important. BeyondDC certainly has not been shy, with proposals for Orangeington and Steeple Square.

In that vein, I think it is long past time that Washington’s summer playground get a name. If New England has Cape Cod, New York has The Hamptons, and Carolina has the Outer Banks, why shouldn’t our local collection of beaches have a single identifying moniker? In today’s installment at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network, I ask that question, and suggest that we adopt “Delmarva Shore” as a single name to describe the string of beaches from Cape Henlopen south to Toms Cove, including Ocean City.

Earlier today the DC City Council introduced a bill to allow streetcar wires on H Street, NE. It was co-sponsored by 12 of the 13 council members, so it stands a good chance of passing. I argue that the bill is a common sense solution to an easy problem, at least with regards to H Street, at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network.

This week on the Washington Post Local Blogging Network, I present the argument that traffic congestion is caused by over-reliance on cars rather than growth itself, citing Arlington as proof of concept. By growing in an urban, multi-modal manner, Arlington has added over 20 million square feet of office space and 20, 000 new residential units with no discernible increase in traffic congestion.

As Maryland takes heat for failing to completely fund WMATA, I am reminded of my 2006 prediction that the ICC would bankrupt Maryland’s ability to fund transit in future years. I make the connection between the two in this week’s entry at the Washington Post Local Blogging Network.

Earlier this week the US Green Building Council officially launched LEED-ND, environmentally friendly standards for neighborhood development. I discuss the launch, and how it could revolutionize Smart Growth, on the Washington Post Local Blogging Network.

WMATA interim general manager Richard Sarles is suggesting Metro run fewer but longer trains on the Red Line.
I discuss why this may be a good idea in my first piece for the Washington Post Local Blog Network.