Thursday March 2, 2023
ANALYSIS: Fredericksburg must face population, housing pressures | COMMENTARY: Balow is gone, but it's Youngkin's anti-public-school philosophy we need to expel | OBSERVED: Two leading women
COMMENTARY: Fredericksburg must face population, housing pressures
The Fredericksburg City Council is publicly tackling the twin problems of increasing population and affordable housing.
The pressures each is creating are unsettling some in the city, who worry that increasing housing density to accommodate projected growth has the potential to destroy the city’s character.
This assumes, however, that the city’s character is preserved by favoring older buildings against the need for denser housing.
The Atlas of Reurbanism, however, has shown this to be a false dichotomy.
“We found a clear, statistically significant link,” writes Mike Powe, “between blocks of older, smaller, mixed-age buildings and heightened levels of population density. It turns out that older are remarkable in their ability to comfortably and inconspicuously fit incredible densities of residents, jobs, and businesses into relatively compact spaces.”
To be fair, the cities that the Atlas of Reurbanism focuses on are larger than Fredericksburg (Winston-Salem, Virginia Beach, and DC are the closest to our fair hamlet the Atlas has studied). But the findings can help us understand Fredericksburg’s character and how to preserve it.
The older buildings that help give Fredericksburg its character are marvelously adaptable. Creating lofts, studio apartments, and small-businesses spaces above local stores permits more residents without altering the face of the street.
Accessory Dwelling Units - the current topic of debate - are another way to increase density without destroying character. And that, in part, explains why they’ve grown in popularity over the past 20 years, according to a piece in the Washington Post.
The research [from Freddie Mac] found striking growth in ADUs, jumping from less than 2,000 listings per month in 1997 to more than 12,000 in 2018. Between 2009 and 2019, the number of first-time ADU listings averaged 8.6 percent in year-over-year growth. Those figures could also be set to jump as cities and states change codes in favor of accessory units.
The reason for the growth is that ADUs work. Though not a panacea, ADUs benefit those who build them on their properties (by increasing value). Further, they provide more-affordable rental units, and therefore increase density without building over historic properties.
The argument can even be made that ADUs may be a key to preserving a city’s character.
Fredericksburg is a desirable region that is going to continue to draw people and industry. Certainly some of those coming here will move to surrounding counties, but not all. Those who want to live in the city, will live in the city.
Creating more living spaces for them now and welcoming them will lessen the possibility that down the line, a council made up of people who care less about character and more about bringing more people inside the city limits really do alter the city’s character.
Like it or not, Fredericksburg is going to change. Dealing with it now is not working against the interest of preservation. It’s the responsible way to ensure that the city’s character stays intact for generations to come.
COMMENTARY: Balow is gone, but it’s Youngkin’s anti-public-school philosophy we need to expel
By Martin Davis
The hot question in education circles on Wednesday was, Why?
Why had Jillian Balow suddenly stepped down as Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Washington Post listed a litany of embarrassing mistakes that Balow has had to take responsibility for since coming to Virginia.
Her “Our Commitment to Virginians” report was filled with errors related to the use of data. And that wasn’t even the worst issue.
The report was one of the disputes that marked Balow’s tenure, which was dominated in part by challenges over the ongoing revision of the state’s curriculum standards for history and social studies. Youngkin appointees to the state Board of Education took the unusual step of delaying that process, mandated by law, rejecting an initial proposed version of the standards that placed greater emphasis on Black and Native American lives and perspectives.
And then there was the $202 million mistake in calculating school funding.
Given those mistakes, getting to the why of her resignation isn’t particularly important. No one who follows education in Virginia was surprised by the move.
Balow, however, is simply a symptom of a more dangerous disease that Gov. Glenn Youngkin has allowed to grow unchecked in Virginia - “school choice.”
Though in theory school choice sounds appealing, in practice it is both impractical and not shown to be effective, as Diane Ravitch - a former supporter of school choice - has shown in Reign of Error.
What Youngkin and the school reform movement really want is the privatization of public education, based on the incorrect belief that the private sector and competition are more effective at educating children than government-run schools that work with parents, voters, students, and numerous other stakeholders to educate our future leaders.
I suspect Virginia will dodge the educational nightmare Youngkin hopes to unleash. If Democrats hold the Senate or win the House in 2023, Youngkin’s desire to end public education will effectively have not viable path forward.
Even if they don’t, Youngkin’s track record of selecting leaders who actually understand education and how to build strong schools will bring another failed person like Balow.
Not that Youngkin will notice or care. After all, his interest in school choice begins and ends with how far the topic will take him in his quest to run the nation from the Oval Office.
A tall task for a man who still hasn’t figured out how to run Virginia from Richmond.
OBSERVED: Two leading women
March is women’s month, and Fredericksburg is rich in woman past and present who have made their mark here, and around the world.
Gaye Adegbalola
“Blues musician” is just one area in which Adegbalola shines. A native of Fredericksburg, she has been a noted scientist, a force in the Civil Rights movement, and a gifted teacher. If you don’t know her, today’s a great day to begin by listening to her sing “I can do bad all by myself.”
Claudia Emerson
Virginia raised and educated, Claudia Emerson spent a significant portion of her career at the University of Mary Washington. As a poet, she reached the heights of success, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for her book Late Wife.
Discover more of her work at the Poetry Foundation.
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