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The vast majority of DC's bad neighborhoods are being gentrified and gentrification has already started in the worst part of DC over the river where the city got its old "murder capital" name from.
But a large number of poor people over the river have already been removed to make room for new development. Public housing standards in areas with new development have also been changed so that "low income" means people making around 50K. In other words.. they are making sure the original residents they are removing have no way of coming back.
How long do you think it will be before the Anacostia area becomes as safe, desirable and high income as Dupont? 3 years? 5 years? 10 years?
Not really. Prior to 2008 there wasn't hyper-gentrification in DC like after 2008. So neighborhoods changed a lot slower. You cannot compare what is happening today to anything prior to 2008.
It still looks like a dump in most areas. Battered up storefronts, liquor/payday stores, dearth of retail, etc. They've tried repeatedly to open new restaurants and other attractions, but its just hard when you don't have any organic foot traffic from other parts of the city.
If you want to be a neighborhood pioneer, by all means take a look over there. But as far as I can tell, the separation caused by the river really puts a damper on quick development.
At least 15 years. I think if the question was about NE DC and Ward five, it is five to 10, as it's already in progress on a large scale in multiple locations. But Ward 8 represents significant risk. If it is going to happen, it will happen in Ward 7 first, as that is where there has been more positive changes.
Even then it will take much longer than many people think. These projects do not happen overnight all the time, and the pace of change depends highly on pre-conditions.
I highly doubt Anacostia will ever resemble anything like Dupont Circle. Dupont is a geographically small, downtown-adjacent area that has historically been one of the most exclusive areas of DC. Anacostia is a quiet sprawling residential area of modest houses for the working class. It has none of Dupont's Gilded Age architecture, hotels, civic institutions, museums, mansion, etc. Dupont also has nowhere near the amount of public housing that you see east of the river.
A more realistic goal is how long until Anacostia becomes like Brookland: a quiet, gentrifying area with new higher density development around the Metro. For that, I could see Anacostia being maybe 10 years behind Brookland.
The reality is Anacostia's relatively isolated location from the urban core and lingering social issues resulting from concentrated poverty will slow down the process. You have all the crime of Petworth or Shaw without as good of a location. As we have seen with those neighborhoods, building some new apartment buildings by the metro doesn't solve these long stranding issues over night. Quite frankly, Anacostia's built environment and urban feel isn't much different from in a pre-war inner-suburb, but with a lot more of the downside. In light of this, I don't expect we will see a wholesale transformation anytime soon.
I highly doubt Anacostia will ever resemble anything like Dupont Circle. Dupont is a geographically small, downtown-adjacent area that has historically been one of the most exclusive areas of DC. Anacostia is a quiet sprawling residential area of modest houses for the working class. It has none of Dupont's Gilded Age architecture, hotels, civic institutions, museums, mansion, etc. Dupont also has nowhere near the amount of public housing that you see east of the river.
A more realistic goal is how long until Anacostia becomes like Brookland: a quiet, gentrifying area with new higher density development around the Metro. For that, I could see Anacostia being maybe 10 years behind Brookland.
The reality is Anacostia's relatively isolated location from the urban core and lingering social issues resulting from concentrated poverty will slow down the process. You have all the crime of Petworth or Shaw without as good of a location. As we have seen with those neighborhoods, building some new apartment buildings by the metro doesn't solve these long stranding issues over night. Quite frankly, Anacostia's built environment and urban feel isn't much different from in a pre-war inner-suburb, but with a lot more of the downside. In light of this, I don't expect we will see a wholesale transformation anytime soon.
That makes sense. The fastest way to change Anacostia would be to completely level it to nothing more that a flat field of nothing. Then build it from scratch. Maybe put the new FBI headquarters there. They are looking to move in the coming years.
That makes sense. The fastest way to change Anacostia would be to completely level it to nothing more that a flat field of nothing. Then build it from scratch. Maybe put the new FBI headquarters there. They are looking to move in the coming years.
Level Anacostia to a flat field? What are you crazy? Much of Anacostia is solid working class row houses. Also some areas of well kept single family homes. The housing projects and low rent apartments concentrated east of the river seem to generate most of the crime. But much of Anacostia is just fine.
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