Arlington has a remarkable diversity of neighborhoods. Clarendon is one of the most successful, lively, mixed-use parts of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Shirlington is demonstrating that you can have Smart Growth even without Metrorail. And in much of the county, even just a short distance from Metro stations, are many quiet single-family neighborhoods.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.