Steady job growth and excellent schools are among the features that have made metropolitan Washington a desirable place to live, spurring high home values and encouraging the creation of expensive new developments. This has put enormous pressure on local governments striving to shape communities where all citizens of all ages can afford to live.
COG shares housing data, best practices, and tools to help encourage the production and preservation of housing affordable to low and moderate-income residents who may not be well-served by the existing housing market. Through strategic partnerships, COG and its members build greater awareness of the region's housing affordability needs. In late 2018, COG launched its Regional Housing Initiative to determine what it would take to increase housing beyond what is currently forecast to provide enough housing for the region’s growing workforce. In 2019, officials adopted three regional housing targets to address this challenge.
It is not enough to just increase the amount of housing our region produces, however. Equally important is ensuring that growth is equitable and results in integrated neighborhoods in metropolitan Washington. COG works to support local governments in meeting their obligation to affirmatively further fair housing choice so that as the region grows, all residents can choose to live in healthy, affordable homes with access to transit, jobs, and quality educational opportunities.
COG also supports the most severe housing needs of the region's residents—individuals and families experiencing homelessness. COG, area governments, and homeless services providers seek regional solutions to ensure that the experience of homelessness is brief, rare, and one time only.
News & Multimedia
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News
March 2, 2016
During its first meeting of the year, the Region Forward Coalition – comprised of local, state and federal government officials, business and nonprofit leaders,...
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News
January 14, 2016
The 2016 State of the Region: Economic Competitiveness Report measures a wide range of indicators-- from graduation rates to Gross Regional Product (GRP) and...
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News
August 13, 2015
Laura Zeilinger, Director of the Department of Human Services for the District of Columbia, led discussion on homelessness with area officials gathered for the...
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News
June 11, 2015
Greater cooperation across borders on a variety of issues will be critical to the National Capital Region’s future economic success according to Prince George’s...
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News
May 13, 2015
According to an annual report by COG, there are 11,623 homeless individuals living in the area – a 2.7 percent decrease (or 323 people) from 2014. The report,...