WDC
‘The District.’
Washington, D.C. – the capital of the USA – has been developed as the Federal District of Columbia in a quadrilateral at the head of the Potomac River.
With its geometrically planned rectilinear grid and radiating diagonal avenues, it is well laid out around four quadrants with its squares.
It is now expanding extensively as a governmental centre into a large metropolitan area and growing around its peripheries.
Maps of Washington, D.C.
Overview
Streets and Networks
Satellite View
All maps above provided courtesy of Google Maps.
Population Density
Visualising population density in Global Cities
This interactive map shows population density in 2020, measured in residents per square kilometre.
The data is from the ‘Global Human Settlement Layer’ (GHSL) 2023, produced by the European Commission JRC and the ‘Center for International Earth Science Information Network’ at Columbia University using earth sensing data from the European Copernicus Space Program that Integrates high volumes of satellite data with national census data.
The GHSL describes the settlement geography of the entire globe and has applications for a wide range of research and policy issues related to urban growth, development and sustainability.
Map provided courtesy of LuminoCity3D.org.
Rail Networks
Rail and transport networks in Global Cities
The above map represents the urban metro and light rail network of the city and immediate suburbs. This shows individual rail routes and the level of connectivity for urban travellers across the expanding city’.
Map provided courtesy of UrbanRail.net.
Journals from Washington, D.C.
1. Washington, D.C. + extract (Jan Morris)
‘As the seat of Government, Washington D.C. was planned as a new city with its diagonal axes, squares and grids by Pierre L’Enfant in 1790s, as the national capital of America. With its grand vistas and symbolic squares all within a 10-mile land quadrilateral around the Potomac River, the city has a particularly distinctive character, quite different from other American cities.’
