Center City is the heart of the District of Columbia. Its 6.8 square miles include the “monumental core” of the city, with such landmarks as the US Capitol and White House, the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, and the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian Museums. Center City also includes the city’s traditional Downtown and other employment centers such as the Southwest and West End. It is also home to Gallery Place and Penn Quarter, the region’s entertainment and cultural center. Finally, Center City includes emerging urban neighborhoods like Mount Vernon Triangle, NoMA, Capitol Riverfront and Poplar Point.
Center City is of great importance to the District, the region, and the nation. It is the seat of the federal government, and the economic, cultural, and historic core of the region. It contains the third largest concentration of office space in the United States, trailing only New York City and Chicago, and over 400,000 persons are employed within its boundaries.
The area’s preeminence is underscored by its land use patterns; it includes more than 100 million square feet of office space (almost 25 percent of the region’s total), 2 million square feet of retail floor space, over 11,000 hotel rooms, major entertainment venues, and the second largest theater district in the country. It is also the center of the region’s transportation network, with one of the best underground mass transit systems in the world.
Center City Action Agenda 2008
The Center City Action Agenda aims to spur additional investment in emerging neighborhoods and waterfront areas surrounding Washington’s traditional downtown.
Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy
The Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy is a project by OP, in partnership with the DC Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, to provide strategies and tools to help reposition Chinatown as the region’s top destination for Chinese/Asian cultural businesses, programs, services, events and festivals.
Chinatown Design Guide Update
The Chinatown Design Guide revised version of the Chinatown Design Guidelines Study is aimed at continuing the cultural richness of Chinatown, in both traditional and contemporary ways.
Chinatown Design Review Procedures
The Director of Planning is required to review projects that the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) identified as located within Chinatown.
Chinatown Public Realm Plan
The Chinatown Public Realm Plan is an effort of the Office of Planning to create a comprehensive set of detailed actions to enhance the Chinese character, safety, and pedestrian friendliness of Chinatown’s streetscape and public spaces.
Downtown Action Agenda
A plan for directing future growth to emerging areas near downtown Washington and strengthening downtown neighborhoods as vital and vibrant places.
The Downtown East Re-Urbanization Strategy
The DOWNTOWN EAST area is a bustling gateway to the heart of the city, located on the doorstep of Union Station and the crossroads of the downtown, Mount Vernon Triangle, and NOMA neighborhoods.
Franklin Park Vision and Transformation Plan
Franklin Park Vision and Transformation Plan is an effort to develop a comprehensive plan, vision, and design documents that can guide the transformation Franklin Park into an active, sustainable, and celebrated historic urban park.
Mount Vernon Square Design Workbook, Washington, DC
A vision and urban design framework for the Mount Vernon Square District to make it a dynamic, unique, destination for DC residents, workers and visitors alike.
Mount Vernon Square District Project
Mount Vernon Square District Project will generate implementation-driven solutions for specific transportation, public realm and real estate challenges and opportunities in the blocks, streets, and reservations surrounding Mount Vernon Square.
Mount Vernon Triangle Action Agenda
A policy and urban design agenda for guiding the redevelopment of the Mount Vernon Triangle area to create a truly livable, majority residential, mixed-use neighborhood with a core of creative activity.
Mount Vernon Triangle Transportation and Public Realm Design Project
Mount Vernon Triangle Transportation and Public Realm Design Project identifies goals, concepts, and specific recommendations and guidelines for transportation improvements and streetscape/public realm design.
NoMA Vision Plan and Development Strategy
A vision plan and development strategy for one of Washington’s newest neighborhoods north of Massachusetts avenue (NoMA).
Planning Together for Central Washington
Coordinating federal and local planning initiatives for Central Washington, DC.