Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, offered a statement to the Fairfax County Times on the tools needed to ensure affordable housing.
Category: Affordable Housing
Housing bills at the VA General Assembly
We are pleased to report that many of our bills have already passed their chambers of origin, meaning they have crossed over and will now be considered by the opposing chamber. Read on to see where these bills stand and how you can be a part of supporting housing affordability in Virginia.
Event materials: Does more housing make housing more affordable?
On January 22, 2026, we talked to leading housing experts about the relationship between housing production and affordability, and explored policy tools to provide stable, affordable housing across a range of incomes.
This was the third webinar in our series on our region’s housing needs, and how researchers, policymakers, and advocates can work together towards solutions.
Webinar: Does more housing make housing more affordable?
This Thursday, Jan. 22, we’re talking to housing experts to explore the relationship between housing production and affordability.
Event materials: How New Housing Affects Affordability. Virtual Screening + Q&A with Justine Underhill
This online event focused on the impacts of luxury housing on affordability. We screened “What Luxury Housing Does to Homelessness,” followed by a Q&A with its creator, Falls Church City Councilmember Justine Underhill. Justine is known for her dynamic video series simplifying complex housing concepts with research and engaging graphics. The discussion explored the connections between homelessness, affordability, and new housing, with a regional focus on Northern Virginia, where Justine is an elected official.
Here are a few of the materials we discussed:
- Video: What Luxury Housing Does to Homelessness
- Check out Justine’s website to see her other videos and get in touch
- For further reading: More Flexible Zoning Helps Contain Rising Rents
- The Effect of New Market-Rate Housing Construction on the Low-Income Housing Market
- Supply Skepticism Revisited
Event materials: Maryland Housing Needs & Solutions: Why is housing unaffordable, and what can we do to fix it?
At this webinar on December 8, 2025, we discussed two recent reports offering insight into why housing is so unaffordable, what its impact is, and what to do about it with a Maryland all star cast ⭐️:
- Kathryn Howell, PhD, Director of the National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland College Park & Associate Professor, Urban Studies & Planning Program
- Dani DiPietro, Policy Research Director, Office of the Comptroller of Maryland
- Natali Fani-González, Council President and District 6 Councilmember, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Moderated by Scott Gottbreht, PhD, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Strategy, & Research, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
View the reports, presentations and event recording here:
- Presentation: Maryland Housing Needs Assessment 2025 Update
- Presentation: Housing and the Economy, MD Comptroller
- 2025 State Housing Needs Assessment, prepared by the National Center for Smart Growth for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
- Housing & the Economy Report, the Comptroller of Maryland
- View the event recording on CSG’s Youtube channel
Press Release: CSG Commends Council’s Approval of the University Boulevard Corridor Plan
The Coalition for Smarter Growth thanks the Montgomery County Council for voting today to pass the University Boulevard Corridor Plan.
WIN! Montgomery County Council approves the University Blvd Corridor Plan
On Tuesday, December 9, the Montgomery County Council voted to approve the University Boulevard Corridor Plan by a vote of 7-3. The plan creates a strong framework for safer streets, a wider variety of housing options, a connected bike network, and new homes and retail near transit.
Take Action: Tell the DC Zoning Commission to upzone Wisconsin Ave. from Friendship Heights & Tenleytown Metro stations
On December 11, 2025, the DC Zoning Commission will consider a major upzoning for the upper Wisconsin Avenue corridor near the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown Metro stations (Zoning Case 25-13) which could bring thousands of much-needed homes to this high opportunity area.
Voice your support for a more inclusive Ward 3! The opponents are coming out strongly against it – so we need you to step up! Here’s how:
- Send a letter of support by December 10 — click below & personalize it!
- Sign up to testify virtually on 12/11, 4 pm. Live, virtual testimony at the Zoning Commission is crucial to countering the number of forceful opponents we expect. Sign up & get tips on testifying here. Or ask us! Cheryl@smartergrowth.net.
The upper Wisconsin Avenue Corridor with two Metro stations and many local services is the perfect place to provide the housing our city needs.
Image source: DC Office of Planning
Want more background on the Wisconsin Av. rezoning? Check out our explainer here.
New Carrollton station area walking tour
On Dec. 2, 2025, we met up to take a look at what’s been happening around the New Carrollton Metro station. It’s a Metro station, a bus station, an Amtrak station, a MARC station, and coming soon: a Purple Line station! We got a bird’s eye view from the top of the Metro parking garage and saw lots of progress and preparation for new housing, transit facilities, and even a bit of retail around the New Carrollton Metro station. Check out the Metro handout on all the building around the Metro station.
Tour Speakers:
Nia Rubin, Acting Vice President, Office of Real Estate and Development, WMATA
Matt Sanchez, Director of Development, Urban Atlantic Development
Vic Weissberg, Prince George’s County Dept. of Public Works and Transportation
Karen Guzman, Office of Prince George’s District 3 County Council Member Eric Olson
Ray Biggs, II, Senior Project Director, Purple Line, Maryland Transit Administration
Scott Gottbreht, PhD, Assistant Secretary of Policy, Maryland Dept. of Housing & Community Development
Alan Lederman, Managing Director of Development, Urban Atlantic Development
Pictured: Matt Sanchez, Urban Atlantic, speaks to the group, overlooking the site for the new affordable senior building located across Garden City Drive. Photo by Dan Behrend.
Co-sponsors: CSG, WMATA, MDOT & RISE Prince George’s
Pictured: Ray Biggs, II, Senior Project Director, Purple Line, Maryland Transit Administration, and Cheryl Cort, CSG. Background: Purple Line station under construction and the IRS building.