District of Columbia’s Elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

Abstract

The District of Columbia is a quarter of a century into an experiment with neighborhood-based elected governance. Thirty-seven Advisory Neighborhood Commissions blanket the 10-mile-square city, conducting all manner of review, critique, and advocacy functions on a wide range of city services and policies. The author, an elected Commissioner himself for five years, describes the history and shares his views about the scheme.