Washington DC - Town Planning
Washington DC - Town Planning
Washington DC - Town Planning
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a geographical area of 68.3
square miles (176.9 km2), 61.4 square miles (159.0 km2) of which is land, and the
remaining 6.9 square miles (17.9 km2) (10.16%) of which is water.
Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on
its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); it interrupts those states' common border,
which is the south shore of the Potomac River both upstream and downstream from the
District. The portion of the Potomac River that passes Washington is virtually entirely within
the District's border, as the District extends to the south bank. The city contains the historic
"federal city", the territory of which was formerly part of those two adjacent states before
they respectively ceded it for the national capital. The land ceded from Virginia was
returned by Congress in 1847, so what remains of the modern District was all once part of
East (Capitol
Hill, Near
Northeast, Brookland-PetworthTakoma,Anacostia)
Starting at the Capitol Building
and Library of Congress, and
fanning out past grandiose
Union Station and the historic
Capitol Hill neighborhood, to
the
less
often
visited
neighborhoods by Gallaudet
and Catholic University, historic
Anacostia,
D.C.'s
"Little
Vatican" around the National
Shrine, the huge National
Arboretum,
the
Kenilworth
Aquatic
Gardens,
offbeat
nightlife in the Atlas District,
and a handful of other eccentric
neighborhoods to explore.
FORMATION OF THE
WORLD POWER
HISTORY
1791 -1800
At the request of George Washington, Pierre LEnfant, a French volunteer in the Continental Army, presented a baroque city plan for
the new Capital inspired by French city planning, particularly the plan of Chanteloup [Miller 2002]. The city is oriented north along
16th street and bounded by the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers and Boundary Street (modern-day Florida Avenue), which follows the
base of the Piedmont Escarpment.Thomas Jefferson was able to persuade the Congress to grant a Southern site for the new Capital,
but lost out on both his own plan for the new city as well as a design for the Capitol building submitted anonymously.
Notoriously difficult to work with, LEnfant, despite Washingtons favor, was eventually dismissed from the project and the final plan
for the city was based on surveys conducted by Andrew Ellicott (shown here in the same scale as LEnfants plan) with modifications
made by Jefferson, which shifted and straightened Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Avenues as well as eliminating the destination
quality of the reservations LEnfant had set aside for Statues, Columns, Obelisks, or any other ornaments such as the different states
may choose to erect.
1860-1900
This
Birds-Eye
drawing
looking south shows the
emergance of the Mall as a
civic space by 1860.
Andrew Jackson Downing, at
the
request
of
Millard
Fillmore, produced a plan for
the Mall and the parks north
and south of the White
House.
Downings
work
exemplifies
the
natural
landscape trend of the time,
heavily
influenced
by
Cambridges
Mt.
Auburn
Cemetery
and
pastoral
notions of the young nation.
In opposition to LEnfants
geometric plan for the city,
Downings
Mall
featured
serpentine
paths
through
pastoral plantings of trees
and past irregularly shaped
water features.
By the early 1900s, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital had become marred
by slums and randomly placed buildings, including a railroad station on the National
Mall. A plan enacted by Congress in 1901 beautified Washington's ceremonial core,
re-landscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and
establishing a new city-wide park system, finally developing the city into L'Enfant's
intended grand design.
The New Deal spending of the 1930s led to the construction of even more
federal buildings, memorials, and museums. Government activity only increased
with the coming of World War II and the city hasn't looked back since.
WASHINGTON MONUMENT
CONGRESS HALL
DUPONT CIRCLE
SKYILNE
The monumental core of the city consists of the National Mall and many key federal buildings,
monuments, and museums, including the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and
the National Air and Space Museum. Its layout is based on that proposed by the McMillan
Commission report in 1901.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL
CONSTITUTION GARDENS
THE ELLIPSE
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
WHITE HOUSE
WASHINTON MONUMENT
FEDERAL TRIANGLE
SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS
REFLECTING POOL
U.S. CAPITOL
CONGRESS LIBRARY
LE ENFANTS PLAZA
JEFFERSON MEMORIAL
SUPREME COURT
SENATE BLDGS.
HERE YOU CAN EASILY FIND THAT ACTUALY THE MALL IS TOO FAR
FROM REST OF THE CITY
URBAN-IS-NATION
a) be near people
Density is necessary for urbanity. People must be present and fill the space. Density is often thought of in terms of
residential density, but this is not the only way to think about it. Downtown Washington is a bustling urban place
based entirely on the density of office space and the long-hour work habits of those who occupy those offices.
c) be legible to people
Space must have edges, paths, and centers that allow people to read it without effort to orient themselves and
understand where they are. The easiest and most effective way to do this is to reference the environment that they are
already used toone of streets bounded by buildings, spaces with hard edges and corners, and monumental
landmarks.
Massachusetts Avenue
Scott Circle
LEnfant also planned for reservations of space at key intersections and established a Neo-Classical program of siting
buildings or other monuments in these spaces. While many of the spaces have collected statues and monuments, the full
intention of LEnfant has never been realized. Such wide streets and numerous spaces, combined with the height limit
of buildings in Washington give the public space a particular character. The city is bright and open. Furthermore, the
building setbacks provide space for trees and gardens which are in abundance in the city. This character continues
beyond the original area of the city, and while the grid and diagonal system of streets breaks down north of Florida
Avenue, the commitment to openness and green continues.
Dupont Circle
DuPont Circle is Washingtons best example
of how LEnfants reservations and squares
could work. A vibrant park and traffic rotary
combined, the Circle is at the intersection of
three major diagonal avenues and the center
of the Dupont Circle Neighborhood, a mix
of commercial, retail, and residential uses.
The space of the Circle is delineated by
corner buildings, streets, medians, and trees.
The Dupont Circle neighbourhood is
situated northeast of Georgetown and
surrounds Dupont Circle, a park centred at
the
intersection
of
five
streets:
Connecticut, New
Hampshire,
and
Massachusetts avenues and 19th and P
streets.during the Great Depression of the
1930s, when residents were forced to sell
their Dupont Circle homes, many of which
were converted into boarding houses,
offices, private clubs, and embassies; other
homes eventually were torn down and
replaced
with
mid-rise
apartment,
commercial, and office buildings.
FEW
AREAS
REQUIRE
PHYSICAL
BARRIERS.. RENOWATING THE ROADS
AND INTERSECTION POINTS
ROAD NETWORK
HERE YOU CANEASILY VIEW THE DIAGONAL CUTTINH ARTRIEL ROADS ON GRID
PATTERNED ROAD NETWORK
City layout
The city is split into four quadrants of unequal size, which radiate out from
the Capitol Building: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and
Southwest (SW). The NW quadrant is by far the largest and SW the smallest.
Addresses in the city always include the quadrant abbreviation, e.g., 1000 H Street
NE. Take note of the quadrant, otherwise you may find yourself on the exact
opposite side of town from your destination!
City streets are generally laid out in a grid, with east-west streets primarily named
with letters (AW) and north-south streets named with numbers. The street
numbers and letters increase as the distance from the Capitol building increases.
The numerous diagonal avenues, many named after states, that serve as the city's
principal arteries. The street numbers and letters increase with distance from the
Capitol. The grid has a few peculiarities that are a legacy from the city's foundation.
The City of Washington originally occupied only a portion of the total area of the
District. As a result, outside of what is now often called the "L'Enfant City" streets
do not strictly adhere to the grid system. However, you will find that many street
names were simply extended where practical and, past the letter "W", east-west
streets loosely follow other alphabetical naming patterns.
Curious to note, visitors to Washington will quickly discover that there is no "J" St.
This is because, until the mid-nineteenth century, the letters "I" and "J" were
indistinguishable when written. Following that same idea, "I" Street is often written
as "Eye" Street, to distinguish it from the letter "L" and the numeral "1", and "Q"
Street, is often written "Que," "Cue," or "Queue."
THE STRONG GRID IRON PATTERN AND DEDICATED DIAGONAL ROADS NOT ONLY
MANAGE THE TRAFFIC BUT REDUCE THE LONG DISTANCES FOR EASY FAR
MOVEMENTS. SEE HOW ROADS ARE TURENED GREEN THRU PLANTATION WITH
SMALL CENTERD PATCH OF PARKS AND ROUND ABOUTS.
Most of the city's attractions are located near each other, such as the
museums and monuments along the National Mall, which makes
driving or taking Metro between locations either impractical or in some
cases impossible.
D.C. is a walking
and biking town
It's no surprise
that D.C. has been
cited as the fittest
city
in
the
country; residents
and visitors get a
lot
of
exercise
simply
getting
around the city!
Even if you plan
on
taking
the
Metro,
bus,
or
driving
(not
recommended) to
get
downtown,
you will often find
yourself walking,
biking, or taking a
pedicab for the
remainder of the
day.
RAIL NETWORK
Amtrak trains arrive
from all over the
country, particularly
the
Northeast
Corridor (Boston-toRichmond). All stop
at Union Station (Red
Line Metro), a few
blocks from the U.S.
Capitol
Building.
The Capitol
Limited comes
from Chicago,
passing
through Pittsburgh a
nd Cleveland
while
the Cardinal runs to
Chicago
passing
thru Cincinnati and I
ndianapolis. A few
lines also stop in
adjacent Alexandria,
Virginia, very close
to the King Street
ANACOSTIA
MARSHY LANDS
OR
WETLANDS
The Kenilworth marsh is all that remains of the vast marshlands that once covered the riverbanks of the
Anacostia (before being dredged for development), and is the only place where you can really imagine
the District before it became America's capital. The prime attraction are the cultivated ponds, full of
waterlilies, but it's also a worthy destination for the riverfront trail, greenhouses, and birdwatching.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DC GIS. Washington, D.C. [http://dcgis.dc.gov/] 2005.
Green, Joshua. Monumental failure: why we should commercialize the National Mall Washington Monthly. Oct 2002.
Miller, Iris, 1938- Washington in maps, 1606-2000 / Iris Miller ; [contributing authors, Timothy Davis ... et al.]. New York,
N.Y. : Rizzoli, 2002.
Passonneau, Joseph. Washington through two centuries : a history in maps and images / Joseph R. Passonneau. New York :
Monacelli Press, 2004.