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Don't forget that in DC, "their state" is the Federal government, which is also the District's — and the DMV's — largest employer.
Prior to the granting of home rule in 1973, Congress ran the District directly. The House District of Columbia Committee** has much less to do now, and that's good for the District, but we do need to remember that what Congress giveth, Congress can taketh away.
But the fact that its largest employer won't pull up stakes and move to another city is a huge advantage for the Greater Washington region from an economic standpoint. It means it doesn't need "economic development" agencies dangling carrots in front of companies based elsewhere, hoping to lure them to its moribund downtown or set up shop in some brownfield. Personally, I think that a lot of that "smokestack chasing" (I need to find a replacement for that epithet, for what these agencies chase today aren't "smokestack" industries or businesses) is actually counterproductive, and that most regions would do better investing the money in growing new local businesses.* But, like with publicly built and subsidized convention centers, there's a perception abroad in the land that as long as the other guy does it, we need to do it too. (This dynamic actually did real damage to the metropolitan economy of my hometown of Kansas City, since the state governments of Missouri and Kansas were engaged in giving away the store in order to lure companies to move across a street.)
However: I thought that the agency that denied the permits for that apartment building was the city's Zoning Board of Appeal. Those boards exist in every city with zoning (i.e., every large and medium-sized city save Houston), and they rule on any proposal to build a building that would run afoul of rules that attach to its lot's zoning or to a zoning overlay that applied to the lot, and the only way to make those boards less powerful is to rewrite the zoning codes so that more stuff can be built "by right." Did I miss something when I read that article?
*When Philadelphia made the short list of candidate sites for Amazon HQ2, the hashtag #GrowTenAmazons trended for a while locally on Twitter. I think the people using it were making a very good point.
**edited to add: I wrote this before reading the news release I linked above by U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's non-voting representative in Congress (technically, she's a "delegate" rather than a representative, but she can cast votes in committees, including when Congress meets as a Committee of the Whole). The DC Committee no longer exists; the House Committee on Oversight and Reform now handles matters concerning the federal district in Congress.
I think COVID is changing that for every city. Companies are no longer what cities are chasing. Residents are what they are chasing including permanent teleworkers. I think the new standard will be high density neighborhood populations and the tax dollars they bring. With telework changing everything moving forward, the next 10 years of office lease expirations will change everything in downtown areas around the world. The more mixed-use and high density neighborhoods will become the most successful neighborhood from a tax base standpoint.
In DC, mixed-use neighborhoods are doing amazing and have been all through the pandemic. The office heavy neighborhoods like Golden Triangle, Midtown, and Federal Center SW in DC have struggled because of the use type of the buildings being heavy on office. COVID is going to push those neighborhoods into mixed-use overtime which wouldn’t have happened without COVID due to height restrictions.
We will know more about the future of Golden Triangle, Midtown, and Federal Center SW over the coming years when office landlords are forced to switch to residential which has already begun. I think Mt. Vernon Triangle/Northwest One/NOMA/Union Market along with Navy Yard/Buzzard Point/Waterfont Station/The Wharf will be the most most vibrant mixed-use high density downtown neighborhoods especially during nights and weekends until Golden Triangle and Midtown fix their building uses.
With proper zoning this building could be approved. But Boston last new zoning laws were written in 1964 about 10 years after the BPDA came into existence. They simply don’t try to make any changes so this type of building still requires variances.
I think some context is necessary for why DC is “all of a sudden” promoting growth. The zoning code and comprehensive plan were against growth until the 2010’s when the rewrite happened. The policies promoted suburban development and keeping “neighborhood character” throughout the city. That language led to tons of lawsuits that had most of the development tied up in litigation for most of the last 15 years. We couldn’t accommodate our growth downtown like Boston and most other cities so DC didn’t really grow like it would have over the last decade.
The fight against housing growth led to some of the worst gentrification and displacement in the country. Fast forward to today and the city is finally defrosting many of the appeals that lasted for years. The growth in DC over the next 10 years should truly be extraordinary because of the construction of units allowed. Build it and they will come.
With proper zoning this building could be approved. But Boston last new zoning laws were written in 1964 about 10 years after the BPDA came into existence. They simply don’t try to make any changes so this type of building still requires variances.
That's an awfully long time to go without revising the zoning code. Philadelphia's City Planning Commission — since absorbed into the Department of Planning and Development — overhauled its zoning code in 2012-13 with the aim of (a) reducing minimum parking requirements for multi-unit residential developments (b) promoting denser and more intense mixed-use development in a number of neighborhood commercial corridors (c) allowing more projects to be built by right without a trip to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
A young African American family may move to your city if they can find the right fit. They require the following in a neighborhood:
1. Neighborhood must be in city proper with urban walkable built environment
2. Predominately African American population in the neighborhood
3. African American owned businesses/restaurants within walking distance to their home
4. Public transportation within walking distance
5. Walking distance to parks and trails from their home
6. House with a yard for the kids to play
7. African American local political power (sitting councilman for neighborhood)
What neighborhood would you recommend in your city and what makes it the best choice based on their criteria?
Black neighborhoods in Florida are generally not very walkable but are there any Florida neighborhoods that could qualify for 2-7? Maybe in Broward County? I was thinking parts of Miramar might qualify but I'm not sure if majority black.
More Lynn MA (if anyone remembers Tony Gallo from Coppin State- he was a Lynner) Good luck at the downtown Lynn/East-South Lynn as I knew it growing up:
Lynn is highly urban and walkable with a tame crime rate. Population about 105k. Not very Black- only 11-12% but you can find some census tracts around 30-40%. City is like 45% latino 30% white rest is mixed or Southeast Asian (Cambodian).
“A trio of Boston city councilors are pushing for hundreds more liquor licenses in the city, specifically in neighborhoods of color where there is a paucity of restaurants that can legally serve booze.
Specifically, the councilors want the state to give the city the ability to grant up to an additional 200 nontransferable all-alcohol licenses over a three-year period; all of these would be distributed in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, and Hyde Park. Their proposed home rule petition, which needs Beacon Hill approval, also calls for the number of licenses in Boston to increase 10 percent over a decade’s time.
Framing the issue as one of equity, Councilor Brian Worrell, one of the measure’s sponsors, said the move is necessary because of neighborhoods such as Mattapan. It’s the most diverse neighborhood in the city but has just 10 liquor licenses, he said, out of the city’s 1,400-plus licenses.
Worrell also pointed out that Blue Hill Avenue, a street that cuts from Mattapan Square through Dorchester, into Grove Hall, and toward Nubian Square in Roxbury, only has six restaurant liquor licenses along its entire 4-mile stretch. The thoroughfare is considered to be one of Boston’s most historic corridors but also one of its most neglected.”
….
The additional licenses would be nontransferable, meaning they would be given to restaurant owners at no cost, but would revert back to city authorities if the original receiving restaurant closed down. Transferable, nonrestricted licenses can be bought and sold by restaurant owners on the open market.
City leaders have advocated for more licenses, and other reforms in that sector, for years. As a city councilor, Representative Ayanna Pressley pushed through reforms that created 75 new licenses. Former mayor Martin J. Walsh and current Councilor Frank Baker have also pressed for more licenses in years past. In 2020, Councilor Lydia Edwards broached liquor licensing reform, raising the prospect of the city buying liquor licenses from struggling establishments and leasing such licenses back to establishment operators.
--I’m sure this wont move for a year.. but wow would that be a game changer. This would fundamentally shift Boston. All those vacant lots I showed earlier could be more quickly eaten up if these neighborhoods develop mature and trendy restaurant scenes and are not kept artificially ghettoized. The truth is white people aren’t going to move into these areas so long be as every place is low end take out in the form of Fried Chicken, West Indian, Chinese, Greek pizza, Italian pizza, and $4 Vietnamese banh Mi. All the over regulations in MA keep an artificially ghettoized neighborhoods in Boston that could develop more wealth and be more vibrant if actually allowed to compete. Boston has been fighting state for a long time but now it might finally be able to make the change by utilizing the racial equity lens.
The double edged sword is this could readily invite more gentrification if not also granted rent control from the state (unlikely imo). South End used to be black but it’s now one of the cities greatest restaurant scenes and greatest example of gentrification. Once the neighborhood become a place to live and hang out and not just exist and survive the folks with disposable incomes who typically like a drink with a quality meal- stay in the neighborhood. That currently only happens at the Haley House in Nubian Square. In a non-residential block/parking lot.
I fear that this has contributed mightily to gentrification in NW and NE DC as well as Brooklyn and Harlem. It’s been Boston’s main line of defense so far as I can tell.
The history of the smaller cities outside Boston is very unique compared to the DC suburbs. You can tell they are much older. Good videos!
It’s crazy because you grow up thinking this is how everywhere is. When I first saw google images of suburban sprawl I didn’t think it was real or definitely not common. It didn’t even make sense in my head. Unincorporated places and communities built after i was born? How?
But tbh is is why we’re always drawing you can’t say you’re from Boston Lynn is a whole different vibe/history/accent/culture. The idea is you should be proud of that.
It’s crazy because you grow up thinking this is how everywhere is. When I first saw google images of suburban sprawl I didn’t think it was real or definitely not common. It didn’t even make sense in my head. Unincorporated places and communities built after i was born? How?
But tbh is is why we’re always drawing you can’t say you’re from Boston Lynn is a whole different vibe/history/accent/culture. The idea is you should be proud of that.
Sort of. That's what's known as a "metropolitan division" — a subset of a metropolitan area. Many very large metros have these. Camden is a metropolitan division of Philadelphia, and that city's located right across the Delaware River. Wilmington, Delaware's largest city, is one as well.
Sort of. That's what's known as a "metropolitan division" — a subset of a metropolitan area. Many very large metros have these. Camden is a metropolitan division of Philadelphia, and that city's located right across the Delaware River. Wilmington, Delaware's largest city, is one as well.
No that's not what a NECTA is at all. It's 100% not a metropolitan division.
NECTA don't fall entirely within any metro. Its a New England City Town Area and it only exists in New England .
A New England city and town area (NECTA) is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state New England region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of New England towns instead of entire counties. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000.
In New England, towns (which are classified by the United States Census Bureau as minor civil divisions) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real metropolitan area than a metropolitan statistical area does.
Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.
NECTA don't fall entirely within any metro. Its a New England City Town Area and it only exists in New England .
A New England city and town area (NECTA) is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state New England region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of New England towns instead of entire counties. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000.
In New England, towns (which are classified by the United States Census Bureau as minor civil divisions) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real metropolitan area than a metropolitan statistical area does.
Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.
NECTAs can have their own own divisions.
I know the difference between a New England City and Town Area and an MSA/µSA in the rest of the country, and why they exist: Counties are vestigial at best in at least three of the six New England states and have been abolished in Connecticut and all but abolished in Massachusetts. (Frankly, since every square inch of land in the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania is likewise part of an incorporated municipality [township, town, borough, city], this distinction IMO would also be useful in that part of the Mid-Atlantic region as well, even though counties and their governments still matter in all three states.)
Now, go back to that Census Reporter URL and page you linked for Lynn.
Here's the heading on that page:
Lynn-Salem-Marblehead, MA NECTA Division
IOW, this is the New England equivalent of a "metropolitan division" in the rest of the country, not a separate MSA or NECTA.
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