How Dense Can We Get?

As I travel some of Arlington’s Canyon Boulevards (Clarendon, Fairfax, Washington and Wilson), I suspect that I am not the only person who is asking the question, “how dense can we get?” At approximately 8,400 people per square mile (twenty six in all), Arlington is already one of the top ten most dense jurisdictions in the country, as well as among the wealthiest, perhaps a correlation.  So why do we desire to be denser yet?  There are those who argue that when it comes to Columbia Pike and the surrounding neighborhoods, we can, and should be much denser, maybe a five mile canyon in the coming years?  My biggest concern is for those Arlingtonians, many of whom were born here, who leave every day because they can no longer afford the rent.  Let’s take a detour away from pursuing “density intensity,” at least for a year or two (like a moratorium) and drive toward intensifying our efforts to “hold harmless” those Arlingtonians who can’t compete with the highest bidders for the million dollar condos along our boulevards.

Mark Riley

Arlington