As you read this issue of Arlington Magazine, you may experience cognitive dissonance.
On the one hand, we’re proud to publish an extensive, well-reported story by Alison Rice on an important topic facing our community. Weighing in at 4,000+ words, “Going, Going…Gone?” provides a deep dive into rising housing prices and the corresponding decline of affordable homes for middle-class buyers. In recent years, Arlington’s housing market has become largely out of reach for many buyers, such as teachers, police, firefighters and many health care workers, including those who are administering vaccines and treating the sick during this pandemic. There are racial disparities in the housing landscape, too. Some of the inequities are rooted in discriminatory lending practices and racist neighborhood covenants that were outlawed decades ago, but continue to have lasting effects. This reality raises some important, fundamental questions: What kind of community do we want to be, who do we want to include and what can we do about it?
On the other hand, you also will notice in this issue three stories on luxury custom homes. Just as we make a habit of covering complex community issues (and myriad other topics), we are also committed to writing about home design and architecture, whether in the form of a new build, renovation, condo, townhome, big space, small space, indoor space, outdoor space and everything in between. In other words, our goal isn’t to advocate for one form of housing or another. Rather, it’s to take our readers inside beautiful spaces of all shapes and sizes to provide inspiration.
We aren’t blind to the awkward, perhaps uncomfortable juxtaposition of writing about the loss of affordable homes, while simultaneously covering beautiful new homes that command high price points. This magazine is a mirror to our community and our editorial choices reflect that role.
On the dining front, I recently observed on social media that my family’s dietary habits sound like the start of a joke: “A vegan, a vegetarian, a pescatarian and two omnivores walk into a bar…” As you might imagine, serving dinner in our house is a complicated affair, so I was thrilled with “Plant Power” by Jessica Strelitz. The story provides a terrific roundup of 11 local restaurants that serve tasty takeout dishes for vegetarians and vegans, as well as for carnivores who need a break from meat and potatoes. My family is making its way through the options, and I hope you will try them too.
Thank you for reading Arlington Magazine. I hope you find it informative, helpful and enjoyable, and we are grateful for your continued support. Also, we would love to hear from you. I can be reached at greg.hamilton@arlingtonmagazine.com and you can contact our editor, Jenny Sullivan, at jenny.sullivan@arlingtonmagazine.com.
Best,
Greg Hamilton, Publisher