Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Things used to be clearer for Fairfax County. It used to be known as the epitome of upper-middle class suburbanity, even earning name-checks in popular novels and songs as such. With acres and acres of rolling hills covered in leafy suburbs and landscaped office parks, it was a quiet complement to the quirky inner suburbs of Northern Virginia and the dense chaos…

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Not too long ago this site, along with the D.C. Council and much of the rest of the Washington area, was actively debating the incentive package for the new Washington Nationals stadium. At the time I was well aware of the questions about costs and benefits and was familiar with research on the subject suggesting that new stadia did not boost metropolitan…

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It isn’t particularly surprising, I suppose, that in Zachary Schrag’s Metro history The Great Society Subway the role of central city savior is played by, you know, Metro. What is somewhat surprising, even to an unapologetic transit supporter like me, is how convincing his case is; faced with riot scarred neighborhoods and a downtown abused by suburban office and retail growth, the…

Earlier this week Matthew Yglesias took us to task for referring to a “Mid-City” part of town when discussing a campaign for a new Trader Joe’s near U Street. Matt is actually quite wrong to suggest “shady real estate cabals” are the architects of the term Mid-City, but the fault for his misinformation is likely ours. You see, last winter we ran a post mocking the MidCity Business Association’s moniker, basically accusing them of trying…

You’ve heard the story about what was to be the Georgetown Metro station, right? They were going to build one, but the residents protested, leaving the Orange Line to proceed directly to Rossyln. It turns out this “story” is pure fiction — the only Metro station not built due to citizen protest was a proposed Oklahoma Avenue Station in Northeast. If you’re anything like us, you spend plenty of time on Metro’s buses and trains…

MONDAY “Hey. What’s up. My name is Malcolm Lawrence. I couldn’t help noticing that you’ve been sitting outside the Hefner Auditorium here at the Keese School for Continuing Education—located, as I’m sure you know, at 417 Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg—for quite some time. Just waiting for something exciting to happen? Yeah. I don’t blame you. Well, I’ll tell you what, if you’ve got two bucks and can wait until say, 7:30 this evening, I’ve got…