Implementing Region Forward: Q & A with RF Leaders

February 7th, 2012

We asked two leaders who are guiding the implementation of Region Forward to comment on the progress that’s already been made, what they’re looking forward to accomplishing in the coming year, and how RF impacts their own communities.

Eric Olson is the Chairman of the Region Forward Coalition (RFC) and Vice Chair of the Prince George’s County Council

Frank Principi is the Chairman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and serves on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors

Q: Do you think this regional level of focus is key to Region Forward’s success?

A: (Olson) The key to achieving our goals for the metropolitan Washington region as a whole is that we must work collaboratively across our jurisdictions to create high levels of synergy, employment, education, economic and environmental sustainability, and transportation integration. These will not happen in silos. Our residents live their lives across our jurisdictional borders, and not just from the suburbs into the downtown core, but across all our lines. Our economy is regional and is competing with metropolitan areas across the nation and across the globe. We will only succeed as a vibrant region when all of its constituent parts realize the benefits of success.

A: (Principi) Right now, inner jurisdictions like D.C. and Arlington may be significantly outperforming the outer suburbs toward a target like the overall share of bicycle trips. At the same time, these jurisdictions may be limited in their ability to preserve green space. That’s why it is important for us to keep a regional perspective as we evaluate our progress toward our Region Forward goals.

However, I believe that for most of our goals and targets, all 22 of our local cities and counties will be able to make significant contributions. While we have our different geographies and development histories, we are now seeing properly planned, intelligently designed developments spring up all over our region. That’s no accident. These developments, which are based on smart growth principles, work well and are highly sought after. In Prince William County, examples include the three transit-oriented town centers of Potomac Town Center, Belmont Bay, and North Woodbridge.

For example, North Woodbridge improvements will leverage high-speed passenger ferry service on the Occoquan and Potomac Rivers, Virginia Railway Express (VRE), the recently funded widening of Route 1, and the recent widening of Interstate 95, including the slug and future toll lanes. These developments in our county and across the region increase transit use, add housing choices, and spur new business creation, which in turn, will help us as a region move the needle closer to our goals.

Virginia Railway Express

Q: With many targets measuring impacts far into the future, are trend lines the primary indicators of progress?

A: (Olson) Achieving our goals as a region is an ongoing process. We have seen tremendous growth and success in the last decade in parts of our region, and many areas are virtually unrecognizable from the places they were four decades ago. The key to planning a 40-year future that includes a resilient economy, a stronger workforce, a smaller carbon footprint, and healthy, walkable neighborhoods, is ensuring that progress is constantly being made, and having regular regional assessments of our benchmarks.

If we are not creating greater equity for our region’s residents, if disparities grow, and if we are growing farther apart, we will need to change our approach. But I believe today’s elected officials are committed to our region as a whole and that we will succeed in our bold effort to create a stronger set of benchmarks for our overall regional progress.

As gas prices continue drain folks’ wallets and with the DC area having some of the nation’s worst traffic, a great deal of the public understands that having a strong public transportation system, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, and access to nearby jobs are important for a vibrant community. I believe our local officials in the region have a good understanding of the need for such communities as well. We need to make sure, therefore, that those are the types of places we’re creating.

Q: As Chair of the COG Board, how do your priorities for the region in 2012 align with the goals and targets of Region Forward? Are there certain areas within the plan that you would like to focus on in during your leadership?

A: (Principi) The economy. At first, when people talked about this recession, they focused mostly on the protective bubble the federal government has provided our region. Even though area residents were struggling and unemployment numbers were increasing, our region was still doing better than almost any other part of the country. In recent months, however, the conversation has shifted. This was spurred in part by the huge automatic spending cuts that will be imposed as a result of the failure of the Congressional Supercommittee. If not prevented, these cuts will have a massively negative impact on the region’s economy.

In addition to the economy, transportation is a perennial issue in metropolitan Washington and that will be no different this year. I’ll work with this year’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) Chairman Todd Turner to push our region’s transportation needs to the forefront of the agenda.

Q: The region has benefited from the protective bubble that the federal government’s presence has provided and has performed relatively well economically over the past few years. As that protective bubble becomes less certain (with likely reduced federal spending and employment), how can Region Forward help the region proactively prepare for this transition?

A: (Olson) As a coalition of officials representing our metropolitan region, we have come together recognizing that we must work closer together to plan for our collective future, particularly in less certain economic times. This will mean seeking ways to ensure that there is more equity across our region, and across our economic groups, as we grow. We cannot be strong as a whole if significant parts of our population are falling behind in any of the four indicators. We should grow our green economy, technology, health care, and educational research sectors. We need to work from the strengths we have but also become a hub for future research and industry. We need to look at commerce in the years to come, and use our significant institutions of higher education to spin off new technologies and research that will fuel a new economy.

A: (Principi) Part of the initial Region Forward planning process involved a workshop that examined how drastic changes or “Big Moves” would affect the region. One of the four scenarios considered a major reduction of the federal government’s presence in the region. While we probably won’t see the nation’s capital move from D.C. to Kansas City, it is likely that the federal government’s current levels of spending and employment in the region will not be maintained. This year at the COG Board of Directors, we’re going to be incorporating that scenarios work into the creation of an Economic Growth and Competitiveness Plan for metropolitan Washington. This plan will be developed by the COG Board in coordination with the Region Forward Coalition and will move us closer to Region Forward’s goal of a diversified, stable, and competitive economy.

Q: Lastly, moving briefly from the regional to the local level, how do you see Region Forward benefitting your jurisdiction?

A: (Olson) As a Prince Georgian, I see the tremendous assets in my county – the 15 under-developed Metro stations, the University of Maryland, NASA-Goddard, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Bowie State University, Joint Base Andrews, and more. I see the 60 percent of my County’s residents leaving Prince George’s daily to commute to work. I know that by focusing more jobs and investment on the eastern side of our region, that it will help alleviate traffic, it will create more of a balance in prosperity, and it will even create more reverse commutes, which can help stabilize WMATA by selling more Metro seats on trains that are currently empty traveling outbound.

By focusing on our overall regional goals, it will allow the eastern half of the metropolitan area to do more for the region in the long run, it will strengthen our overall workforce, our competitiveness among regions, and our place in the world.

Beltsville Agricultural Research Center

A: (Principi) For a fast-growing county like Prince William, all of the Region Forward goals are important. Our residents want better transportation and housing choices, a clean environment, vibrant economy and safe communities. In the long term, according to forecasts by the Council of Governments, Prince William County will gain over 200,000 new residents between 2005 and 2040, an over 60% increase in our population. The goals and targets in Region Forward help focus us on better managing this growth into our activity centers and around our transit stations.

Region Forward also challenges us to think boldly about our big challenges. For example, to meet our Accessibility goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled and better connect our region’s activity centers, I have been a strong proponent of high-speed ferry service along the Potomac River from Woodbridge, VA to Washington, DC. I’ve also been involved in the early discussions examining the feasibility of extending Metrorail from Springfield to Woodbridge. I think we must stay committed to working across our jurisdictional borders and identifying the big ideas that will shape a better future for all residents of the D.C. region.

Add Your Comment »

Ending homelessness involves providing more affordable housing

February 2nd, 2012

Housing is an essential element of Region Forward. And it pops up in some way in almost every blog post here at The Yardstick, usually in the context of the region’s need for much more affordable housing.

Housing in metro Washington can be an extremely frustrating subject, given the region’s exorbitant costs. For many folks that cost becomes simply too much to bear. In the direst cases, this can result in temporary or permanent homelessness.

The Homelessness Resource Center and the National Coalition for the Homeless both attribute the related factors of dwindling affordable housing supply and rapidly rising housing prices in urban areas in the U.S. as principal drivers of homelessness. There are, of course, several other factors that contribute to homelessness, including issues involving mental health, substance abuse, unemployment, domestic violence, etc.

The overall rate of homelessness in metro Washington has remained fairly stable the past few years, a sign of the region’s relative economic strength compared to the rest of the country during the recent recession.

However, ending homelessness, not keeping it constant, should remain the target. And some troubling trends have also emerged in metro Washington – such as the increase in families who are homeless – which should keep the pressure on leaders and communities to focus on ending homelessness.

Every year, MWCOG organizes a point-in-time count of the entire region’s homeless population to highlight the overall figures and specific trends of the population (read last year’s report here). Last year, this blog featured the reactions of two housing planners who took part in the count, recounting what they saw and how they felt (search “Reactions” here on Region Forward).

This year, we are sharing participant reaction again. The following is a portion of Michelle Albert’s recounting of the experience (Albert serves as the Homeless Outreach and PATH Coordinator for the city of Alexandria):

In Alexandria, the point-in-time outreach volunteers represent a cross section of the larger community. This year, 34 volunteers worked across four 4-hour shifts. Thirty-one volunteers assisted with outreach and another 3 organized materials and set up food and incentive items. The 34 volunteers consisted of 14 DCHS employees, 7 police officers, 4 Sheriff’s Deputies, and 9 members of the community. Officers and deputies drove teams of civilian volunteers to designated locations and utilized their knowledge of the community to locate homeless individuals.

Three-to-four person teams began outreach efforts at 4 pm January 25 and worked through the night until 8 am January 26. Teams searched approximately 50 pre-identified locations and continued searching additional locations at their discretion, again utilizing law enforcement’s and social workers’ knowledge of the community. Preliminary results indicate that approximately 20 unsheltered individuals were located in Alexandria, down from 31 people in January 2011. Records from the 2011 count indicate that at least five of the individuals counted last year are now sheltered and therefore they are not part of this year’s count.

During the count, teams distributed food, clothing, blankets, sleeping bags and toiletries. Generous financial and in-kind donations from local businesses, shelters, Alexandria Detox and the faith-based community made this possible. Of special note, the city’s outreach activities resulted in shelter and services being provided to a 70-year-old Marine Veteran who had been living in a tent near Potomac Yards after having a stroke in October 2011.

Participating in the point-in-time count provides volunteers with education as well as chance to help individuals and families experiencing homelessness. In addition, it allows law enforcement to be ‘the good guys’ who give out sandwiches and sleeping bags instead of tickets and trespassing notices. As a result, people experiencing homelessness are more likely to be cooperative during any future contact. As more people volunteer to assist with the outreach portion of the count, awareness increases, information is spread, and education is provided which allows the community to develop a more mindful approach to addressing the issues surrounding homelessness.

Add Your Comment »

A New Narrative about the Region’s Future

February 1st, 2012

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the region’s economic future. And it’s for a good reason. Over the past few years the prevailing narrative has been that metro Washington shines as one of the rare bright spots in a dismal national economy thanks to the protective bubble provided by the federal government.

While much of that narrative certainly remains true, over the past few months a new discussion has also developed, one that is focused on the regional economy’s reliance on the federal government. Given that federal spending is poised to decline in relative terms, the very sector that shielded the Washington area economy may soon become its vulnerability.

The current state of affairs in Detroit, with its high unemployment and poverty rates, is an example of what can happen when a region relies too heavily on any single industry. No one is predicting that federal spending and hiring will drop off as precipitously as did the American auto industry, however, Detroit’s apparent lack of preparedness for the decline of its central economic force provides for a powerful incentive for other regions to be proactive.

A proactive metropolitan Washington is exactly what the new MWCOG Chairman Frank Principi seems to have in mind. In a commentary for Capital Business, Principi outlines how he plans to use his year at the helm of the regional organization to develop an Economic Growth & Competitiveness Plan for Metropolitan Washington.

The Washington Post’s Steven Pearlstein, who has been at the forefront of this discussion with a series of columns on the need for the region to diversify its economy, recently spoke to the Region Forward Coalition about this and other issues as they continue to work on implementing the Region Forward plan.

A few of the themes that Pearlstein focused on included the ongoing needs in metro Washington for more affordable housing and more regional cooperation.

Noting that exurban sprawl is both a symptom and cause of our high-cost region, Pearlstein singled out high housing costs as a particular concern. Referencing a recent study on the region’s severe shortfall of housing necessary for the region’s future workforce, Pearlstein noted that high housing costs contribute to increased prices of other goods and services produced in the region which ultimately hurts our competitiveness.

Also, quipping that “treating the Potomac River like the Potomac Ocean is silly,” Pearlstein encouraged the region’s leaders to continue to pursue increased cooperation, especially in terms of economic development. Taking the potential relocation of the FBI from the District to the suburbs as an example, Pearlstein noted that this opportunity seems ripe for Prince George’s County and its goal of increasing development near its Metro stations and that other jurisdictions should support the County’s bid, not compete with it.

Add Your Comment »

Poor design can lead to poor health

January 26th, 2012

The connection between land-use patterns and public health is increasingly evident. And troubling. The prevailing development model in much of the United States – sprawl – effectively mandates auto dependency and thus exacerbates the country’s ongoing problem with weight and its increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

And it’s not just our ever-expanding waist lines that cause problems. As noted this week in The Chronicle of Higher Education, additional negative health consequences of sprawl include “asthma caused by particulates from cars and trucks, water contamination from excessive runoff, lead poisoning from contaminated houses and soil, and depression exacerbated by stressful living conditions, long commutes, and a lack of access to fresh food.”

That’s quite a list; however, there are a couple of points of good news. First, this issue is starting to get more public attention – PBS is running a 4-hour series called “Designing Healthy Communities” to highlight the association between land-use and health. Secondly, this is one health issue in which the solution is easy to identify: we simply need to design our cities and towns better. Good urban design can reduce the health disparities that exist in our region.

What does that design look like? Walkable, bikeable communities in which folks can get to many of their daily destinations without having to sit in a car. It’s telling that the cities with the highest rates of walking and bicycling – the District of Columbia is now ranked second! – also tend to find themselves atop “healthiest cities” rankings.

The development of walkable and bikeable communities requires – in addition to the immediate on-the-ground improvements like bike lanes and sidewalks – transit, mixed-use development, and density. In other words, they require urbanism. Seeing as suburban areas continue to grow throughout the region and the country, it’s good news for health that urbanism is no longer the sole domain of central cities, as DC’s neighbors are proving.

Add Your Comment »

From climate adaptation to housing shortages, lots of work to do!

January 19th, 2012

Region Forward followers: We hope your 2012 is off to a great start! We’ll be back to regular blogging very soon, but in the meantime, here are some of the most-read posts from the second half of 2011 that you may have missed or want to revisit:

(For the most-read posts from the first half of 2011, read these three editions of The Smorgasbord: one, two, and three)

Not enough housing. Not the right housing. Stephen Fuller and Lisa Sturtevant of the GMU Center for Regional Analysis blog about their findings which show that the region is not producing nearly enough housing and not the right type of housing to meet the needs of the future. As a follow up, regional planners suggest funneling future housing development near existing and planned transit. That’s the kind of housing people really want anyway.

PlanMaryland and Region Forward: Maryland Planning Secretary Richard Hall outlines how these two plans will help create a sustainable metro Washington region.

Moving on for a brief international perspective, rates of driving are down in Western countries (yay!), but before claiming victory, it’s important to note that they’re also increasing rapidly in emerging/developing countries. Our land-use decisions in the West definitely have an impact on climate change, but it will be the growth patterns of huge developing countries like India and China that really determine our climate future.

What’s the role for nation-states in an increasingly metro-driven economy? This post raises the provocative question: are today’s city-states becoming the dominant form of economic entity in the world?

Metro makes a “business case” for transit: In a three-part series, Justin Antos from WMATA summarizes key findings from a study that demonstrates the economic value that Metro brings to the region. Hint: it’s a lot. Part one, two, and three.

Stormwater management isn’t a sexy topic. It is, however, incredibly important economically and environmentally. Maintaining a balance between promoting development and improving water quality is an especially tricky task for a growing region like ours.

Sad, but true: Even if we completely stop emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, the emissions of the past 100 years will continue to generate climate change. It’s inevitable. This is simply a fact; it’s not an excuse for inaction. On the contrary, we should be working feverishly to dramatically reduce our emissions, a goal of Region Forward, in order to minimize further impacts. This two-part series outlines how the region can adapt to some of the effects of climate change. Part one and two.

Lessons for a growing, vibrant region from a struggling one: One may question whether recession-proof metro Washington really has anything to learn from the Detroit region. The answer: yes. A series of posts looked at an issue that the region will be confronting in the coming years: balancing the desire to maintain economic growth in light of likely reduced federal spending and employment. Detroit knows all too well how overreliance on one sector can leave you vulnerable. One promising area to focus on in economic diversification: clean energy efficiency. It makes business sense even if you happen to be one of those climate change deniers.

Sticking with the Motor City, two regional housing planners muse about their takeaways from a conference in Detroit focused on infusing equity concerns into various elements of urban planning, including housing, transportation, the environment, etc. Part one, two, three, and four.

Add Your Comment »