Affordable Housing Preservation in Washington, DC by Kathryn Howell

Affordable Housing Preservation in Washington, DC by Kathryn Howell

Author:Kathryn Howell [Howell, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, Urban, Human Geography
ISBN: 9781000383386
Google: dfUlEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-05-16T05:07:17+00:00


The Roots of DC Policy: The City and the Federal Government

Before digging into the debates in the District, it’s important to lay the groundwork for the relationship between the federal government and the District government. Much is written about the role of the federal government in Washington11, but depending on where in the District you work, the federal government’s role in daily life is a big shrug since Home Rule was granted in 1974, as a way of asserting independence in a fundamentally unequal system12. Yet in the bigger picture, Washington has limited control over its own fate. Like many cities, the state – in this case the federal government – can preempt legislation made by the District. But, unlike other cities, District residents have no vote in the body that preempts the legislation. Those representatives who serve on the Committee for the District of Columbia have a 30-day review of all legislation, including the budget, passed by the DC Council. While they often pass on the opportunity to review or veto legislation, issues of national importance – needle exchanges, marijuana legalization, abortion, for example – create opportunities for legislators assigned to this committee that otherwise offers little to deliver to their constituents the chance to prove their credentials to their voters. At the same time, being in the backyard of the federal government creates both risks and rewards. As Chapter 2 suggests, having Congress and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nearby meant that the District avoided the moratorium on new HUD contracts and that Congress was watching Urban Renewal’s implementation and the neighborhood reaction to it.

Being in Washington, DC creates another challenge and opportunity. As a central spot for political power and organizing, DC attracts new residents as government, nonprofits, lobbying or other issue related to government shifts. In the 1960s and 1970s, this meant the District welcomed activists from the Civil Rights Movement, voter mobilization drives, women’s rights activism, legal activism and community organizing who saw the possibility for a more equitable city. These activists became the base of the District’s first elected council in 1975. This trend has been critical since the District’s founding and has resulted in a broad range of native Washingtonians over time – both those focused on emancipation and Black and community-based power and those focused on the bureaucracy and political functions of the District. However, as times change, so have new residents coming to the District. The national trend that has fueled the growth of cities more broadly – including investment, demographic shifts in family formation and household preferences – has meant that the growth in population in Washington, like many coastal cities, has come from white, upwardly mobile households with little connection to the ideals of Black and low-income empowerment or collective, rights-based policy.

Outside of the federal influence, Washington, DC sits in a unique spot of having the functions of both the state and a local government. This is particularly important in housing and community development policy and land use.



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