Warehouses to Homes: Design, Data, Dialogue Advancing Equity

This is not your typical redevelopment vision study. Washington, DC’s New York Avenue NE corridor has a legacy of industrially-focused production, distribution and repair uses and activities. To meet the demand for new housing, the District’s Comprehensive Plan enabled this corridor to transition from industrial use to a mixed-use community that includes residential, retail and service uses. The communities surrounding this corridor have historically been home to many residents who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with lower incomes. The planning effort centered racial equity to guide the corridor’s transition to improve outcomes among historically underserved residents.

The New York Avenue story can be told in two parts: The first part will demonstrate to attendees how design techniques can effectively communicate a community’s vision. The second part will describe how data and analysis can be used to effectively visualize how the transition from industrial to mixed use aligns with civic infrastructure and facility planning. This session will encourage attendees to think more broadly about community change by demonstrating how the New York Avenue project team engaged District agency stakeholders and the public in discussions about civic infrastructure, placemaking, affordable housing and equity, mobility choice, sustainable energy and value capture.