This block is in the region's densest neighborhood, according to 2020 census tract data.

This was one of GGWash’s most popular articles in 2021. We’re sharing some of our hits again over the holiday season. This article was originally posted on August 20.

We write about density frequently here at GGWash, and for good reason: great cities and regions are, fundamentally, about bringing a lot of people together — resulting in high population densities. Many of the services that make cities tick, like transit systems and shops, depend on having many people nearby and thus on high population density.

Amidst the US Census Bureau’s 2020 data release last week was a new census tract density map. The map uses new tract boundaries that allow for a finer-grained look at many of our region’s most popular areas.

2020 census map showing tract-level population density. Source: 2020 Census Demographic Data Map Viewer.

Logan Circle is still DC’s densest

In the 2000s, new infill mid-rises along 14th Street NW north of Massachusetts Avenue NW resulted in Logan Circle becoming the region’s densest neighborhood in 2010. It assumed that title from longtime champion Columbia Heights. In 2020, the triangle southwest of Logan Circle, towards Scott Circle, retains its title as DC’s highest-density neighborhood.

The current densest census tract in DC is now tract 52.03, spanning the three blocks between National City Christian Church on Thomas Circle and the Whole Foods Market on P Street. Its population density is 82,591 people per square mile, appreciably higher than the 2010 record-holder.

National City Christian Church is a landmark within DC’s highest-density Census tract. Image by Bossi licensed under Creative Commons.

The increase is due less to new buildings than to a geographic split. Tracts should have about 4,000 residents, and former tract 52.01 had grown to about 6,000, so it was split into a higher-density 52.03 and a lower-density 52.02. (The latter’s density is just 35,838 people per square mile, comparable to that of the entire borough of Brooklyn.)

2010’s densest tract (50.02) was split in 2020 into two even narrower tracts, 50.03 and 50.04. Their 2020 population densities are similar to 2010’s, at 58,961 and 69,854 people per square mile, respectively. With DC’s two densest census tracts nearly side by side, Logan Circle is clearly the District’s highest-density neighborhood.

Smaller pockets of almost-as-high population density are scattered around the District. Four other DC tracts have comparable densities: east of Mount Vernon Square (47.03), along Ogden Street NW in upper Columbia Heights (28.01), around the Columbia Heights Community Center (37.02), and in the northwest part of the Navy Yard neighborhood (72.02).

There’s a new regional champion

Elsewhere in the region, another tract split has also uncovered a pocket of even higher density. A tract that formerly stretched from the Ballston Metro station across the Ballston Quarter mall was split in three, since its population had also grown past 6,000.

One of the resulting census tracts, 1014.07, has 3,812 residents clustered on five blocks east of the Metro, around N. Randolph St. and 9th St. N. It boasts a population density of 96,758 people per square mile, the highest in the metro area and in Virginia. Just east of Quincy is tract 1014.05, the second-densest in Virginia at 72,487 per square mile; just west of Stafford is tract 1014.09, with 51,735 residents per square mile.

The one low-rise building in the region's densest neighborhood is this IHOP. Image by Daniel Lobo licensed under Creative Commons.

These three tracts make a slice of Ballston the highest-density residential neighborhood in Greater Washington. For decades, Arlington’s plans have encouraged high-rise residential and office on the blocks immediately along the Orange Line corridor, while strictly limiting additional homes even a short walk away.

All those people in close proximity can support a wide array of dining choices and retailers, including multiple groceries and pharmacies; the tract’s 94 Walk Score makes it a “walker’s paradise”. Small parks and walkways between buildings offer outdoor breathing room.

(What’s also lovely about higher-density places is what’s not built instead. The three Ballston tracts house 8,108 residents in 18 city blocks now. At typical Fairfax County densities, that many residences would require paving over an area the size of Rock Creek Park.)

The high population density doesn’t overwhelm local services. The Ballston Metro station (and adjacent bus terminal) sees healthy ridership, but ranks only about 20th in the system for ridership. Traffic counts on Glebe Road and Wilson Boulevard, the main roads, show volumes steadily declining for decades. (A downside to being an island of high density amidst a sea of low density is that many destinations are too far for easy transit access, so cut-through traffic is a constant presence. Even a majority of Ballston residents drive to distant suburban jobs, but come home to a walkable setting.) The local police blotter shows no more crime than any other busy shopping area. The mall’s long-standing public garage is so overbuilt, the county describes it simply as “ample.”

What’s more, the population is set to grow further. The 2020 Census did not count any residents of a recently opened apartment tower at the corner of Fairfax and Quincy. Once that tower is fully leased up, tract 1014.07’s density should exceed 105,000 per square mile — comparable to walk-up residential areas of Manhattan, and making it one of the densest tracts in the country. As of the 2010 Census, only about 100 tracts nationwide (out of 73,057) achieved that level of density; almost all were in Manhattan, but San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston also had a few.

On the other side of DC, another dense suburban champion retains its title: Friendship Heights Village, Maryland, a tiny enclave of 16 mostly high-rise buildings just northwest of the Metro, remains the densest town(well, Census-defined place)in the entire country. Its population grew slightly in the 2010s, so its density is now up to 90,765 people per square mile.

The view from above

Ballston, Friendship Heights, and Logan Circle still have less than half the population density of high-rise Manhattan. Any look at Census statistics should mention that census geographies, like all boundaries, can mislead. Most of the buildings in these “newly” highest-density tracts existed in 2010, but their density was averaged out across nearby offices, institutions, parks, rowhouses, libraries, malls, garages, wide roads, and “unappealing grassy triangles.” High-rises in this area have larger apartments, shorter heights, greater setbacks, and most likely more elevators and interior staircases than those in Manhattan, all factors that reduce the number of residents.

Luckily, very few people need to live at high-rise densities to achieve the region’s future planning goals. Perhaps the best-value population density is “missing middle” density; walkability can exist with densities beginning 80% lower than tract 1014.07 or 52.03. However, surprisingly few Americans, whether in city or suburb, live at even these modestly urban densities.

Instead of fearing density, our region can recognize that some higher-density places are both necessary and desirable across our region. Ballston, Logan Circle, and Friendship Heights show that even the highest density places are not only harmless – indeed, they’re popular.

Payton Chung, LEED AP ND, CNUa, sees the promises and perils of planning every day as a resident of the Southwest Urban Renewal Area. He first addressed a city council about smart growth in 1996, accidentally authored Chicago’s inclusionary housing law, and blogs at west north. He currently serves as treasurer of GGWash's Board of Directors.