DC and Diversity

Ryan Avent, one of my favorite writers on urban issues, has a terrific post over at DCist:

More tangibly, a diverse metropolis should be a sign of a healthy, economically mobile population base. Since income is so often a force for the sorting of neighborhoods, diversity is a testament to success in reducing racial and ethnic barriers on the economic ladder. It also seems that a diverse and tolerant society tends to be a richer one, and not because the rich can more easily afford to put up with other racial and ethnic groups. Instead, it appears that tolerant societies are more successful economically.

Greater DC is incredibly diverse, though I would add incredibly segregated, mainly by class but also by race.  It also may be approaching a tipping point in terms of housing affordabilty.  On this score, Avent adds:

This, I think, is where the public discussion about neighborhood change suffers. ... I don’t see how blaming development is the correct way to approach the issue. Affordable housing is part of the problem, but if we’re serious about slowing growth in housing prices, we need to be serious about adding housing stock, a lot of it, and fast. I’m continually surprised by neighborhoods that restrict the growth of new apartments or prevent subdivision of large row homes and then fret when old residents of the neighborhood can’t keep up with rising housing costs. Failure to add new units just accelerates the rate at which turnover takes place in old ones.

Just as important should be a focus on helping poorer residents benefit from growth. Poor conditions for youths east of the Anacostia today will make handling neighborhood change more difficult in those neighborhoods tomorrow, since young Washingtonians there will be less prepared to participate in the city’s thriving economy. Maintaining a thriving African-American community in the District over the long term will be impossible without success in schools and on crime. It’s worth remembering that development has been a catalyst for improvement on those counts, allowing the city to slowly but surely serve its most vulnerable youths better.

And the expectation that Washington can or ought to solve these problems all by itself is not appropriate. Certainly, many issues pertaining to income inequality cannot be addressed without help from the federal government. But we should also remember that suburban and exurban counties around the area are happy to attract middle class families of all races, and middle class families are happy to move to them. ...The District faces too many constraints on its land, laws, and revenues for us to expect it to tackle affordable housing without a regional commitment to keep the metropolitan area affordable.

Amen. So where is the national and regional conversations over these isses, not just in greater DC, but around the country? And why is it that not a single one of the Democratic candidates for president will even raise these issues?