Planning in a Pandemic

The DC Office of Planning (OP) is charged with supporting Mayor Bowser, DC government, and residents to think beyond what needs to happen today or this month or this year to help inform a future for us and generations to come. I have been fortunate to help lead the agency for almost two years and it has been especially rewarding as, in April, the Mayor released an update to our Comprehensive Plan that is currently awaiting approval by the DC Council. But this long-term document arrived amid unprecedented public health, economic, and equity crises. The significant uncertainty and the more immediate needs of these crises may, at first blush, make the type of longer-term planning of our Comp Plan update less relevant, if not a fool’s errand altogether.

We have heard many questions to this end. Is a plan that was updated in a pre-COVID context relevant or applicable in what feels like a very different world? Why should we spend precious energy on this, when there are so many immediate needs? What is the role of a long-term plan for physical development in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement? How can we plan for the future, when the reality of our life changes daily and sometime hourly? OP recognized these questions and concerns as we watched the unprecedented events unfolding at the tail end of our update process in March and April. Our analysis of the draft document found not only that the update holds up, but, like planning more generally, is more critical now than ever.

Given OP’s engagement with over 10,000 residents, officials and stakeholders since 2016, we developed a deep understanding of the enduring values held by residents and stakeholders. In 2019, we distilled what we heard from town halls, office hours, and proposed amendments and other engagements into eight values that are as relevant today as they were 18 months ago: Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, Livability, Opportunity, Prosperity, Resilience and Safety. This helped guide engagement around our public review draft update last fall, in which we highlighted four update themes that are also as relevant today as when we shared them a year ago: Housing, Equity & Racial Justice, Public Facilities, and Resilience.

These values and themes illustrate that our Comp Plan update is not made out of date due to current events. In fact, as Chocolate City, a seminal book about DC’s history, starkly illustrates, some challenges around housing, equity, public resources, and resilience date to before the District came into existence 220 years ago. The Comp Plan update seeks to translate these perennial challenges into relevant actions and policies that we can take over the coming years to improve both now and generationally. While certain trends, facts, and data may not be fully updated to the ongoing situation, these are not the primary purpose of the Comp Plan, but rather seek to set the stage for the still-relevant values, themes, actions, and policies.

Not only is the Comp Plan update relevant in in today’s tumultuous environment, it is even move critical because we need this relevant and updated long-term guide to anchor our recovery and ensure it moves us toward our shared vision and goals. In other words, the very uncertainty we are facing is the reason to ensure this update is enacted. This is why we have added COVID-19 and Recovery as the fifth major theme of the Comp Plan update.

Our analysis found 96 policies and actions throughout the update that support COVID-19 response and recovery, including ongoing public health and economic monitoring. But the other themes are critical to recovery as well. The update includes 91 policies and actions that advance racial and economic equity. The update also includes critical new language, policies, and actions that broaden the frame of emergency and resilience planning.

The Comp Plan’s longer-term view has already impacted more immediate District approaches. The values that we distilled helped inform the Mayor’s Housing Equity Report and the ReOpen DC Advisory Committee. More recently, they were used as a guide for the DC Facilities and Commemorative Expressions (DCFACES) Working Group, which evaluated names of DC assets to determine those that have been named in honor of people whose contributions are contrary to our values.

Despite these recent successes, without approval by the Council this year, there are real limits to what is possible, especially as it relates to critical issues around housing, land use, and investments. So now is precisely the time to make sure we are moving as best we can toward our shared vision of the future, as we can take actions now to recover in a way that makes our city stronger, more equitable, and more resilient.

Andrew Trueblood, Director, DC Office of Planning

In ULI Washington’s new Leadership Insights column, ULI Washington will regularly feature member leader’s thoughts and insights as we adjust personally and professional to a “new normal.