Section 10-A203. DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES 203

 

203.1One of the most well documented trends to affect the District over the last five decades is the loss of population. In 1950, Washington had 802,000 residents and was the 9th largest city in America. By 2000, Washington’s population had dropped to 572,000 and it ranked 21st in size among U.S. cities. Between 1970 and 2000 alone, the number of people living in the District of Columbia dropped by almost 25 percent. 203.1

 

203.2Population decline has affected different parts of the city in different ways. Figure 2.1 shows the population changes that occurred from 1980 to 2000 by neighborhood cluster. The vast majority of the decline has occurred in areas east of 16th Street. In fact, the area east of the Anacostia River lost 44,000 residents during the 1980s and 90s, while many areas west of Rock Creek Park actually gained residents. As middle-income households moved away, poorer residents were left behind, leaving the District with the largest concentration of poverty in the region and a sharper divide between rich and poor. This also resulted in a growing concentration of people with special needs, and patterns of disinvestment and social ills in many communities. 203.2

 

203.3Figure 2.1: Population Change by Neighborhood Cluster, 1980-2000

 

http://planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=/planning/lib/planning/2006_revised_comp_plan/2_framework.pdf.

 

203.4Unlike the experience of other major cities, the loss of population in Washington was not the result of “white flight.” In fact, between 1980 and 2000, African-Americans registered the largest decrease among the city’s racial groups, dropping in population by almost 100,000. This drop was partially offset by increases in the city’s Hispanic and Asian populations. 203.4

 

203.5While population loss after 1950 was significant, the decline in the number of households has been much less dramatic. The number of households in the District declined by just 2 percent between 1980 and 2000, standing at 248,000 in 2000. Thus, population loss in the late 1900s was less a function of housing being abandoned and more a result of larger households being replaced by smaller households. In fact, the average household in Washington contained 2.16 persons in 2000, down from 2.72 in 1970. Middle-class families left the city in large numbers during this period and the number of school-aged children dropped dramatically. 203.5

 

203.6Looking forward, the city expects household size to continue falling through 2010, and then stabilize. According to the US Census, the percentage of seniors is expected to increase as “baby-boomers” retire, and the percentage of foreign born residents, particularly those of Hispanic origin, is expected to rise. The District is expected to continue to be a magnet for the region’s young professionals and empty nesters. Its ability to attract families with children rests largely on its ability to improve the quality of public education and address basic issues like crime, service provision, and housing affordability. 203.6

 

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The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.