Action Plan Effort Engages Sector Focus Groups
While many Washingtonians left town in early August, we were busy continuing to gather information from key stakeholders through a series of focus groups. Over 50 people with a range of perspectives on the District’s downtown participated in the meetings, which were broken up into five topic areas: residential and office space; tourism and culture; hard infrastructure; civic and social infrastructure; and retail, dining, and nightlife. Their knowledge and expertise helped us dig deeper on some of the suggestions we have been hearing, such as:
Create dense residential “nodes” to increase housing.
Work with the National Park Service and Congress to transfer downtown parks to the city.
Double down on downtown as a center for the education sector, both K-12 and higher ed.
These ideas (and more) were top-of-the-list during breakout discussions. In each session, groups explored the assets to leverage and the current challenges to overcome in order to reach key visions for downtown. Focus groups also wrestled with the systemic changes needed to transform their topic area and prioritized potential interventions that could make the greatest impacts. They then grounded those interventions in the downtown areas where they felt the actions would be most valuable.
Across the groups, there was alignment and a general consensus that safety is a key concern for downtown (but also not an issue restricted only to this area). Accessibility — ensuring that people can easily travel to, and around, this part of the city — was also a priority as was a focus on livability, including supporting more housing and providing access to amenities (such as groceries). Finally, ideas that leveraged and expanded opportunities for arts and culture resonated for several groups, whether in the form of temporary pop-ups to attract tourists and residents alike or in creating an arts and culture district that concentrates theaters, galleries, artist studios, and other creative programming.
There were some divergences in opinions, something that is equally vital to understand in this process. Some felt that building multimodal infrastructure with a focus on walkability and fewer car-centric options was critical for the future, while others spoke to the need to remove obstacles that currently prevent people from getting downtown, such as congestion and difficulty finding parking. There were also varying perspectives on parks, plazas, and other public spaces: should the focus be on creating more or is there enough already that needs to be better utilized?
The idea that downtown should be “a place that serves as the region’s office employment hub, anchored by the federal government and proximity to political influence” drew mixed responses. In a poll combining the results from both focus groups, 67% agreed this should be a vision for downtown’s future, while 33% either disagreed or were neutral. In discussions, some people shared that the narrative should shift away from downtown being an “office hub,” while others spoke about the need to “get butts in seats” and get people back to the office in order to help regenerate the base for retail, dining, and more. Finally, discussions pursued different paths around what should be the catalysts for driving people to visit and live in downtown: should there be a “build it and they will come” approach (ensure that there are grocery stores, childcare facilities, and other residential amenities available), or should the focus be on shifting fundamental structures and processes (e.g., height allowances for residential, destination places, improved regulations) to create more economic activity that attracts amenities — or some combination of both?
Overall, these focus groups helped the project team delve further into approaches and challenges. And the participants showed a high level of commitment, verve, and insightfulness that will be critical in the development of the Action Plan.