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Suburban sprawl has increased in the D.C. area since 1970: study | Curbed DC

August 13, 2019
  • D.C. Policy Center

On August 13, 2019, the D.C. Policy Center’s article, How the D.C. area’s population density has changed since 1970, was cited by Curbed DC:

The population density of the D.C. region has gone up but also spread farther out during the past half-century, according to a recent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by a local think tank. The D.C. Policy Center (DCPC) reports that between 1970 and 2010, the last decennial census year, residential areas continued to expand at a remove from the District’s downtown.

“[I]nner suburban densities did increase, though rarely to levels where car-dependence breaks down,” DCPC fellow D.W. Rowlands writes of the changes. “However, the lower-density inner suburbs were replaced by a rapidly growing swath of low-density suburbs further and further outside the Beltway.” Up until 2010, the Mid-City, Capitol Hill, and easternmost parts of the District lost population density, seeing a “hollowing-out effect.”

Read more: Suburban sprawl has increased in the D.C. area since 1970: study | Curbed DC

Related: How the D.C. area’s population density has changed since 1970 | D.C. Policy Center

 

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D.C. Policy Center


Established in 2016, the D.C. Policy Center is a non-partisan research and policy organization committed to advancing policies for a strong and vibrant economy in the District of Columbia. Through rigorous research and collaboration, the D.C. Policy Center develops and tests policy ideas, disseminates its findings, and engages in constructive dialogue and debate.

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