D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10-A, § 913
913.1 A varied and vibrant public life is an important part of achieving an inclusive, equitable, and prosperous Washington, DC. Having a vibrant public life for all means that every neighborhood can realize spaces that encourage greater community use, interaction, and enjoyment. Parts of Washington, DC have a rich public life, but many parts of the District do not fully enjoy the benefits of public life. It is critical to promote many different forms and places for public life that reflect the varied cultures of the District's residents and its neighborhoods. It is also important to design public spaces throughout the District in a way that equitably invites residents to use these common spaces as places to celebrate, relax, and mingle.
913.2 Evolving technology and digital tools can influence and maximize opportunities for a more robust and inclusive public life. The urban design of public places can leverage technology in a variety of ways, such as measuring the success of public spaces in ways that are both experiential and quantitative; merging physical elements of the public realm with virtual augmentation to create new and ephemeral experiences; and communicating information and wayfinding for increased efficiency, safety, and social interaction. The integration of technology into these aspects of public life should be balanced with a vision of people-centered urbanism anchored by real-life experience, equity, and urban vitality.
913.3 District and federal agencies should examine their regulatory systems for permitting public life activities, such as special events and festivals, farmers markets, vending, public art, and café seating so that residents have opportunities to create unique cultural activities (see Maps 9.2 and 9.3 for locations of existing permitted cafés and farmers markets).
913.4 Security has and will be a factor in the design and development of Washington, DC, particularly around government and military facilities. Washington, DC is home to major local, regional, and national events, including First Amendment gatherings, with security considerations. The continuing challenge is to accommodate safety and security needs to protect people and places, while ensuring accessible, welcoming, and attractive public spaces and a connected, thriving community. Coordination between District and federal agencies to address security and public space issues is critical.
913.5 Urban design is a key component in creating safe spaces for all, including communities of color and other groups that may have felt excluded, rather than welcomed, in public spaces. Security design approaches need to be flexible to address emerging threats, use temporary and permanent approaches appropriately, and work in concert with operational activities.
913.6 Map 9.2: Locations of Sidewalk Cafés
913.7
Map 9.3: Locations of Farmers Markets
913.8 Policy UD-3.1.1: Freely Accessible Public Space All people, including communities of color, all ages, LGBTQ+ populations and people with disabilities, should have the ability to enjoy public life, express their culture, and feel safe in public space. There should be low barriers for peaceful assembly and free expression in existing public spaces, and new and existing public space design should be accessible, welcoming, and support a mix of activities and users.
913.9 Policy UD-3.1.2: Security Features in Public Space Avoid the placement of security barriers within public space. Where necessary, security measures should be sensitively integrated into the permanent design of streets and public spaces to achieve pedestrian-friendly streets and animated public spaces that support the daily activities of District residents, workers and visitors. Examples include reinforced benches, bicycle racks, stairways and ramps, and planter boxes. Retractable vehicle barriers, guard booths, and long lines of bollards should be avoided. Consider safety and security needs from the beginning of the design process to develop less intrusive solutions. Encourage architectural design and site planning methods that minimize perimeter security requirements and reduce impacts on the public realm. Appropriately use temporary security features and remove promptly when no longer needed.
913.10 Policy UD-3.1.3: Public Spaces for Cultural Expression Encourage the programming of streets and other outdoor spaces with cultural and community events and activities (such as open streets, performances, public art, festivals, and farmers markets) that stimulate street life and allow public expression of neighborhood culture.
913.11 Policy UD-3.1.4: Markets for Small and Local Businesses Use public spaces to support the creation of temporary markets and vending to both expand opportunities for small and local businesses and encourage more active use of public spaces.
913.12 Policy UD-3.1.5: Sidewalk Culture Encourage the use and expansion of sidewalk cafes throughout the District through more efficient and quicker permit processes, while discouraging the enclosure of sidewalk cafes that effectively transforms them into private indoor space. The design of sidewalk cafes should complement the street environment and not impede pedestrian movement.
913.13 Policy UD-3.1.6: Digital Public Life Support the District's urban design and public life goals through the use of emerging interactive technologies, and ensure adoption and use of technologies
improves, rather than prevents, access and participation. Enhance community engagement through place-based interactive surveys. Improve resident knowledge of local architecture and heritage and expand information distribution for upcoming programming and events.
913.14
Assess street vending, sidewalk café, and parklet usage to be responsive to the goals of creating lively and animated neighborhood streets and also adequately protect public safety and movement.
913.15
Reduce procedural barriers for neighborhood and civic-oriented uses of public space. Such uses may include both one-time and recurring events, such as festivals and farmers markets, and longer-term installations, such as parklets and plazas.
913.16
Create a report benchmarking the progress in expanding public life across Washington, DC as part of the Comprehensive Plan amendment cycle. The report would track aspects of public life, including the annual number of community and special events, outdoor café seating, free speech activities, vending licenses, and use counts of major public spaces and streets. See Figure 9.18 for an example of public life event data.
913.17
Figure 9.18: Public Life Dashboard of Permitted Events
913.18
As a pilot test, develop online tools to collect and share data about public life consistent with appropriate privacy protections. Leverage aggregated information from personal mobile devices and from smart-city infrastructure to better understand how the public realm is used to inform policies and actions that improve public space design, increase physical connectivity, improve access to amenities and local businesses, improve wayfinding, and disseminate real-time information to residents about events, public gatherings, and security concerns.
SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990,
effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).