Inauguration Day

Hey Liberal Urbanists. Change your attitude, and you might get a lot less resistance to your development plans.

I’m hearing a lot of doom and gloom from the Left. Hey guys, there are those of us on the right, that want basically the same things you do. We just want it with less regulations, less set asides, and less bullshit, so we can hire the contractors that can get it done quicker and cheaper, without compromising safety. How do they do it in Europe? Could it work here? Hey, I’m open to discussion. Are you?

There is a lot of speculation going on about what is going to happen the federal government. How much will the workforce actually get reduced? Nobody knows. I’ve heard that there is some consideration about selling many of the federal office buildings. True or not, I have no idea. I’m sure there are quite a few developers doing a lot of research behind the scenes, however.

But what if?…Ok, maybe it’s just a dream. but what if the plan, is to make DC the showplace capital of the world. I can envision a city of neighborhoods, like old industrial cities like Baltimore and New York. The difference with DC, is it won’t be Black, Irish, Italian, Polish, etc., it will be Heritage, Hudson, Brookings, Peace Corps., etc., mixed in with Agriculture, Defense, Transportation, Education, Commerce, etc., and you could create your 15-minute city by neighborhoods, connected with good bus and Metro service. You have everyone back in the office, working from home, which is the office, downtown in a neighborhood.

Here’s my twisted logic: In the old industrial cities, you had the residential neighborhoods, and the factories, mills, etc. In the modern non-industrial cities, you have residential and you have office. People want to work from home. Combine the two. I know that is sounds weird coming from a Conservative, but I have no qualm with government agencies, non-profits, foundations, think tanks, even public, charter, and private schools, providing housing, preferably downtown, for their employees, as part of their employment contract. Have it in the same building. You could work in the office area if you want, or work from your home-office upstairs. Come down for meetings, or to interact with other agencies. Don’t forget all those little bodegas, mom and pop restaurants, and food trucks that suddenly appear in your neighborhood.

So where is all the money for this going to come from? That’s the question. You can’t tax your way into it, but you are going to need a lot of federal money to get it done. Donald Trump is a city boy. He grew up in New York City. He knows how cities work. He’s a developer. If you want to build your 15-minute city, he’s the president who could make it happen. Are you willing to work with him?

Step number one: start treating the Trump people with a little more respect. The reason why the country as a whole, shifted to the right, was because of your sanctimonious attitude, while you pulled the left side the the Overton window, just a little too far to the left. The straw, finally broke the camel’s back. You are going to need the Trump people, as well as President Trump’s approval, to turn Washington, DC into the showplace capital of the world, that it should be. Put your plans out there with real-world ideas and plans, minus all the victimhood bullshit requirements.

Stop the complaining and get to work! You just might get what you ask for.