Posts tagged Ncpc
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Four wild ideas that challenge the concept of memorialization
What if we re-thought how we commemorate important people and events? A federal competition is asking that question, and four finalists will now create memorials that answer it. Keep reading…
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1950 plan for DC shows never-built freeways
The 1950 plans for DC show massive efforts to remove people from so-called “blighted” neighborhoods, and give more fascinating and scary insights into the urban development mindset of the day. They also include a full-color map showing the many freeways then planned for the city. Keep reading…
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As downtown DC’s Pershing Park becomes a World War I memorial, process preserves a landscape but doesn’t save the park for people
Pershing Park, a secluded pocket near the White House, is being converted into a national World War I memorial. At the behest of its promoters, the memorial removes the active spaces for people that made the park popular, while keeping secondary elements that close off the park from the city and keep it desolate. Keep reading…
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Few details emerge on AFRH redevelopment, but the Office of Planning is planning to plan
A presentation shed very little light on what’s in store for 80 acres of the Armed Forces Retirement Home at North Capitol Street and Irving Street in DC, slated for a private mixed-use development. However, a few more facts did emerge about the future of this poorly-planned part of DC. Keep reading…
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Will development at the Armed Forces Retirement Home mesh with the city, or be another planning disaster?
A whole new mixed-use neighborhood may soon arise on a portion of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the large 272-acre estate off North Capitol Street. Will the new neighborhood become an isolated suburban island, or integrate into the urban fabric of the city? Keep reading…
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Here’s where the feds once envisioned a mile-long cubicle farm
During this year’s World Series, millions of baseball fans will have their eyes turned to Nationals Park, with the new skyline of Half Street SE beyond the left field line. But if federal planners from the 1960s had their way, that view could have been of a tremendous Brutalist office compound instead of a ballfield, dining/entertainment venues, and thousands of high-rise homes. Keep reading…
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The National Zoo won’t build security checkpoints, but still is adding fences
There won't be security checkpoints at the entrance to the National Zoo, after many residents spoke up against earlier renderings that showed the possibility in the future. The zoo is, however, moving forward with plans to close some of its entrances and add stronger perimeter fences. Keep reading…
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The Zoo can’t build its fences, yet
New fences (for people, not animals) at the National Zoo will have to wait at least two more months. On Thursday, the National Capital Planning Commission deferred approving proposed fences that would limit pedestrian entrances to the zoo and make it possible to add security screening in the future. Keep reading…
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“It is fair to delay 30 autos to speed up each bus”
War on cars? Nope, official government policy recommendation from 1950: “Since a bus carries about 30 times as many people as an auto, it is fair and reasonable to delay as many as 30 autos in order to speed up each bus. The goal is to move people, not vehicles.” Keep reading…
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Replacing the FBI building won’t work without plans for a new Pennsylvania Avenue
A mixed-use development is due to replace the FBI building in Penn Quarter. Right now, the rules that will guide that six-acre redevelopment are stalling over a few issues. The biggest problem is the risk that the current draft ignores the best possible outcome: a Pennsylvania Avenue that devotes enough space to pedestrians. Keep reading…