D.C. residents are being invited to help call the shots on how the city grows over the next 25 years, with two in-person DC 2050 workshops at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The meetings will lay out draft ideas on housing, jobs, and land use and include small-group conversations where neighbors can press planners on where new homes, offices, and other development should go.
The DC Office of Planning says the spring workshops will run Wednesday, March 18 from 6–8 p.m. (with breakout sessions at 6:30 and 7:15 p.m.) and Saturday, March 21 from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. (with breakouts at 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.) at the MLK Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. Registration is available on the DC 2050 site, according to the Office of Planning.
What DC 2050 Would Do
DC 2050 is a full rewrite of the city’s Comprehensive Plan intended to steer growth through 2050, updating the 2006 blueprint for a much larger, denser city. The Office of Planning says the plan will guide where housing, jobs, and public investments go as the District prepares for significant growth. OP projects the city could reach roughly 845,000 residents and about 1 million jobs by mid century, as stated in an Office of Planning release.
What To Expect At The Workshops
At the sessions, planners will present a proposed future land use map and host an open house plus small group discussions where participants can react to place type proposals in detail. The Office’s newsletter says the map is intended to accommodate roughly 145,000 additional residents by 2050 and notes $75,000 in community engagement grants aimed at reaching residents in Wards 5, 7, and 8, according to the DC 2050 Insider.
“We’re shaping the next 25 years of housing, jobs, and land use in DC right now,” Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote on Facebook, urging residents to take part in the open houses and online engagement. The post lists the MLK Library location and the March 18 and March 21 session times.
Neighborhood Stakes And Timeline
Comprehensive plan rewrites often ignite debates over zoning, displacement, and where denser housing should be allowed, and DC 2050 is shaping up no differently. Local coverage and advocacy groups have been following the rollout; Greater Greater Washington has posted explainers on what the meetings cover, and an Office of Planning presentation lays out a drafting phase from April 2026 through June 2027 followed by a legislative review period. See the Office of Planning presentation for the timeline and recent engagement totals.
How To Get Involved
If you can’t make the MLK sessions, OP says additional online and in language options will appear on the DC 2050 website, where you can also take the Vision Survey and sign up for updates. Staff encourage attendees to arrive during open house hours to view maps and speak directly with planners about transit access, parks, and affordable housing in their neighborhoods.
Hoodline covered the mayoral launch of DC 2050 last year and will continue to follow the public meetings as draft policies take shape; our earlier coverage is here: our earlier coverage. For now, tonight’s MLK session and Saturday’s repeat remain the best chances this month for neighbors to tell planners where new homes and jobs should go and how to protect existing communities.
