Urban farming in a food desert

With only one full-service grocery store to serve more than 80,000 residents, urban farming and a community-supported agriculture program are meeting important nutrition needs.

Photo of a dirt path running between a brick apartment building with plywood panels over the doors and a fence with barbed wire on the top.

Still Boarded Up: A long con in Congress Heights?

Geoffrey Griffis says it’s cheaper to replace Congress Heights properties than repair them. Attorney General Karl Racine says replacement has been the developer’s goal for years and low-income tenants have suffered.

A photo on the left of a young man in a tuxedo and a photo on the right of an older man wearing a white hooded sweatshirt.

Obituary: Matthew Joseph Farkas

Matthew Farkas, a resident at 801 East men’s shelter for several years, died on May 11 at the age of 36. It was exactly one month before his birthday. 

Photo of the mural painted by Rebeka Ryvola next to the Anacostia River.

“Spread Southside Love”

Street Sense vendor and artist Ken Martin discusses the significance of a mural painted on a storefront in Anacostia. The mural is near to his old apartment building that burned down in 1976, leaving him displaced for the first time.

Photo of protesters holding signs marching in the rain.

March together, build together

In this opinion piece Reginald Black urges neighbors of Congress Heights to band together to continue fighting to end economic disparity and housing inequality in D.C.

A new park is expected to drive up housing prices in Ward 8. Could a land trust prevent that?

The 11th Street Bridge Park project has created an “equitable development plan” to ensure that residents of Ward 8 are not pushed out by the new development. The leading idea to keep housing and rental costs down in the neighborhood is a community land trust, which creates a non-profit entity that owns the land, while residents can buy the structures on top with a subsidy.