Monday, July 13, 2026
By Callie Solomon
A June 25 panel, “The New Anchor: The Rise of Experience-Based Development,” hosted by the Brand Guild, brought together government and industry players to discuss how Washington, D.C., can draw people into the city given changing patterns of work and social connection.
The panel featured Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert; EastBanc CEO Philippe Lanier; Gareth Banner, group managing director of the Ned, a club with hotels in London and Manhattan; and Elizabeth Pace, president and executive director of Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation.
Noting that, due to the post-pandemic increase in remote work, fewer people need to come into D.C. for professional reasons, the panelists encouraged civic leaders to supplement traditional institutional anchors with experience-based activities and public spaces.
“People want to be in places where they’re able to connect with others — where they’re getting that experience that is authentic, that’s real,” Pace said. For example, she continued, sports arenas not only function as places for people to watch a game, but as a source of community building and lasting memories.
In an interview with The Georgetowner, Lanier said that part of creating an authentic space is intentionally creating environments and activities tailored to the specific groups the space is designed to attract.
Pace and Albert pointed to accessibility as another way to draw people into the city, stating that D.C. has a unique advantage relative to other cities due to its abundant public spaces.
“I think that that’s part of our brand,” Albert said. “You ask tourists what they love most about Washington, D.C. — they’ll say the cherry blossoms, they’ll say the pandas and they’ll say our park system.
“People will travel and pay a premium to be in a city because they’re having an experience that they can’t get anywhere else.” However, she added, because cities compete on costs, “one of our biggest challenges as a high-cost city is to make sure that we become a lower-cost city.”
The panelists also emphasized that, as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent and opportunities for in-person interaction decline, meaningful social connection is becoming increasingly valuable.
Banner said a successful anchor allows “people to find common interest, regardless of their political biases and beliefs.”
Interviewed by The Georgetowner, Albert commented that with changes to the federal workforce, including layoffs, come more opportunities to diversify the city’s economy and attract people to the city.
In his remarks to The Georgetowner, Lanier echoed Albert. “With disruption comes change and a need to understand how to move forward in that chaos,” he said. “So, for me, it means more people coming to Washington.”
Ultimately, the panelists agreed that, in order to attract people to the city and compete with the appeal of home-based activities, Washington must offer experiences that feel distinctive, accessible and worth returning to.