Posts by DW Rowlands — Contributor
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GGWash Picks of 2023: Where is downtown DC? It’s up for debate
DC’s zoning map provides one definition for Downtown, business improvement districts and the Census Bureau give others — and none of them are perfect. Keep reading…
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GGWash Picks of 2023: Premium grocery stores are missing from the region’s high-income Black neighborhoods
In a recent report, Brookings Metro analyzed the locations of premium grocery stores in ten metro areas across the country and found that the absence of high-end grocers from Black-majority neighborhoods is part of a broader trend of divestment. Keep reading…
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Want a lift? How about three? Metro’s elevators leave some riders behind
Metro has elevators in all 98 of its stations, which is a huge win for mobility justice that sets the system apart from its peers. There’s a “but,” though: some of the most crucial stations are still very hard to navigate by wheelchair, and when elevators go out, wheelchair users are left without options. Keep reading…
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Metro was almost built without elevators. Here’s how we avoided that mistake.
Accommodations for passengers in wheelchairs were not the norm when Metrorail was first planned, but the system has — and always has had— elevators in all of its stations. This is the story of how that came to be. Keep reading…
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Most of Washington region’s remote workers are in private sector
The area’s higher percentage and rate of work-from-home since the pandemic isn’t driven by federal employees — it’s part of a bigger trend in tech-hub metros.
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Transit in the Washington region has a future, if we plan for it
The pandemic dealt Metro a huge blow, but ridership can bounce back. Cultivating more rail and bus users will require local funding and adaptation to new normal travel patterns. Keep reading…
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Where is downtown DC? It’s up for debate
DC’s zoning map provides one definition for Downtown, business improvement districts and the Census Bureau give others — and none of them are perfect. Keep reading…
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Segregation and the rise of the car shaped DC’s “new downtown”
In the mid-century, the District’s downtown began to shift north and west as suburbanization and other post war changes took hold. Keep reading…
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DC’s downtown wasn’t supposed to be where it is. Here’s how it migrated
George Washington and Pierre L’Enfant envisioned a very different city when they laid out plans for the Capitol. Part I of a three-part series discusses what changed for the nation’s capital between the 1700s and World War II. Keep reading…
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Premium grocery stores are missing from the region’s high-income Black neighborhoods
In a recent report, Brookings Metro analyzed the locations of premium grocery stores in ten metro areas across the country and found that the absence of high-end grocers from Black-majority neighborhoods is part of a broader trend of divestment. Keep reading…