Section 10-A214. THE COOPERATIVE FORECASTS

 

214.1The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) coordinates socio-economic projections for the Washington region. These projections include households, population, and jobs and are expressed in five-year intervals, currently to 2030. Projections are made for the region as a whole and for each of its 17 jurisdictions. They take into account national economic trends, local demographics, and the local plans and policies of the region’s cities and counties. 214.1

 

214.2At the regional level, the projections have been relatively accurate since the forecasting program began in 1975. Actual growth during the last 30 years has tracked closely with what the forecasts predicted. 214.2

 

214.3In 2005, the MWCOG board approved projections showing the region would add one million jobs between 2005 and 2025. The projections further show an addition of 550,000 households and 1.35 million residents during this time period. About 43 percent of this growth is expected to occur in “outer” suburbs such as Loudoun, Frederick, and Prince William Counties. The “inner” suburbs of Fairfax, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties are expected to absorb about 42 percent. The remaining 15 percent is expected to occur within the District, Arlington, and Alexandria. 214.3

 

214.4Figure 2.7 indicates the location of regional activity clusters in the Washington Metropolitan Area. These clusters were identified cooperatively by jurisdictions in the MWCOG area in 2002. They are intended to provide an organizing framework for directing regional job and housing growth. As the Figure indicates, some of the clusters are more than 40 miles from the District and are larger in land area than all of Central Washington. Despite the designation of these areas, MWCOG indicates that only about 40 percent of the region’s housing growth and 70 percent of its job growth are projected to occur in the regional activity centers during the next 20 years. This means that increased congestion and urban sprawl are likely. Expanded coordination in land use and transportation planning among the region’s cities and counties will be essential to keep the region sustainable. 214.4

 

214.5Figure 2.7: Regional Activity Clusters

 

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

 

notation

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.