If you had watched the police perform road direction reversal in DC, you’d know it’s quite a ceremony. Recently I spotted four police motorcycles at the intersection between Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Ave to ensure vehicles all go outbound for the evening rush hour. This “choreographed dance” happens on several arterials four times every weekday (7:00 to 9:30 am and 4:00 to 6:30 pm).
For DC residents and commuters, this is madness. Read more
Why does DC do such a crazy thing? The answer is simple: to lessen traffic congestions. Many of those who work in the District live in the suburbs; lane direction reversals are designed on major roads that connect MD and VA to the District to facilitate non-DC residents commuting between office and home. The long commutes are nonetheless not pleasant and are also a source of CQ2 emissions.
Now there is an opportunity to fix this problem. If post-pandemic demands for office spaces will decline with some employees likely continuing to telework as it has been predicted, the vacant office buildings can be converted to residence so that more people can live near work. The benefits are multi-folds: reduce commute time, traffic jams, and CQ2 emissions, and possibly lower rent, increase affordable housing units and improve quality of life in general. Good for both people and the environment.
What’s more, we will have a more vibrant and resilient downtown. That mixed use is an essential ingredient for urban vibrancy is not a new argument – it’s a brilliant idea of Jane Jacobs. Mixed business and residential areas are not only more vibrant but also more resilient.
Here are some of the observations from my frequent, extensive walks in town during and before the pandemic. In residential areas with lots of businesses (most of which are service oriented), Georgetown and the 14th St Corridor, for instance, businesses quickly bounced back, and these neighborhoods have been bustling with life soon after the initial lockdown was lifted. The downtown business district where office buildings dominate was hit the hardest and has remained most quiet. Restaurants and other service businesses are yet to reopen, while waiting for their customers, who are mainly employees working in those office buildings, to return. Similar patterns have been observed in New York City.
Many are now scared by the Coronavirus and have developed the perception that cities are bad places during a pandemic. This is mistaken: what matters most is behavior. Conscious citizens that are willing to learn and adapt and have other people’s safety in mind hold the key to curbing pandemics. Chinese cities are all densely populated. True, the government placed strict restrictions. Also important however were extreme precautions taken by individuals. Villagers voluntarily guarded the entrance to their villages, and residents in cities watched in their neighborhoods those who were supposed to quarantine at home. The pandemic could be curbed by simple measures of mask wearing, social distancing, and hygiene practice. Prompt small-scale local lockdowns might be implemented when necessary. It has become more evident that we may not have a (quick) return to zero covid; this makes behavioral adaption more relevant.
Can cities survive the current social unrests and rising crimes amid the pandemic? Some of the ills such as racism and hate crimes have deep historical roots, but economics has always been a part and increased inequality an amplifier. The pandemic worsened economic conditions for some exacerbating the situation and thus provided a convenient outlet. A viable urban economy should help but equitable access is equally important. That mixed resident and business areas are more vibrant and resilient has much to say about poor neighborhoods as well: they have an opposite problem from that of the business district. Getting businesses to develop and grow is the key to vitalize these neighborhoods and to effectively address intraurban inequality.
The District does have special business incentives targeted at less developed neighborhoods and a well-articulated, comprehensive plan for sustainable development in which equality is an objective. It takes time and perhaps needs more efforts to make all these realized.
Mass shootings did not all occur in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix. We may also ask: where are those white extremists and the US Capital rioters mostly living? And where is the opioid crisis most prevalent in the country? You can search online to find out where greater proportion of people were put in jail. Cities are where things are happening; what’s happening in cities, good and bad, naturally draws more attention.
There is a bright future in store for Downtown DC as the pandemic winds down. A city can tackle any issues, social or environmental – if its citizens are open to change, recognize their collective future and care about each other, besides sound governance.
Sorry for an excursion below.
Cities will and must come back. If great cities are doomed, we will all be doomed – just look back at European Dark Ages. It is when Greek cities emerged from the Mycenaean civilization’s collapse (Geek Dark Age) and flourished that Western culture got its foundation, and later the Renaissance in Western Europe began with Italian cities.
It may look like that human capital has become more decentralized in the internet age, but cities, especially big cities, are still where human activities concentrate and where synergies (increasing returns) are present. Cities are and will continue to be the most significant driving force for innovation – not just in technology but in all fronts of culture.
Indeed, this has been happening. The urban-rural divide and widening gap in culture – related to but more than economic inequality – is a great danger for America.
No rosy future for some while others are left far behind no matter in a city or the country. All Americans need to recognize a common future and learn to care about others so to move forward together and keep up with the mighty wheel of technological advances that have led to and will continue to create great economic transformations.