Community Development : Features

Murals revitalize neighborhoods with nothing but a little spray paint and imagination. Here are some of the city's most recent murals--make time to look one up this spring.

In Cleveland, next-generation housing includes one of the greenest homes in Ohio and a house with a basement rock-climbing gym. In Pittsburgh, indie filmhouses are making a comeback. Read about the smartest things happening in cities around the country in this roundup.

We're taking a long-awaited vacation, so this week, enjoy these greatest hits from our archives.

In wards 7 and 8, there are only a handful of sit-down restaurants for almost 150,000 people. Change is slowly coming, but here's what we can do better. Paging all entrepreneurial restaurateurs: your opportunity is here.

Six teams will go on to the next stage of the design competition to build an elevated park across the Anacostia.

From D.C. to Seattle,  alleys are being reinvented as people-friendly spaces. Often perceived as dirty and dangerous, alleys are moving beyond garbage and garages to become havens for pedestrians, public art and small business.

The proposed elevated park across the Anacostia would be a first for D.C. With a national design competition for the bridge kicking off, Elevation DC checked in on the park and its goals of fostering economic development, community health, and a cleaner river.

Memphis is on the rise thanks to a growing startup community, investments in bike lanes, a burgeoning arts district and people moving back to the city. In this spotlight from sister publication High Ground, read what's so smart about Memphis.

D.C. resident Dr. Edgar Cahn invented Time Banking, an alternative currency that prioritizes people over monetary value. Elevation DC sat down with Cahn to learn more.

The ice slide at the G8WAY Pavilion on the St Elizabeths campus has the potential to be much more than just a slide.

A Takoma Park nonprofit builds economic opportunity for low-income residents with a tasty new commercial kitchen.

All over the world, public art enlivens streetscapes, challenges assumptions, and adds color to our lives.

We asked three figures in the art scene to tell us their favorite works of public art in the District. Then, we hope you'll tell us ours.

Reusing building materials "keeps items that normally would end up in the landfill in the community," says one project manager. Nonprofits have been pushing the idea for decades, but now industry, in D.C. and elsewhere, is catching up.

D.C.'s charter school boom isn't just for kids. The public charter school board recently approved the seventh adult charter school in the city. Here's why these schools are an essential part of giving District residents a leg up.