DC in the future

200 years from now, I think Washington, DC, a fairly lush and green city, will probably be rid of foliage and parks. Currently, DC loses about 6% of its trees every year, so with this loss we will definitely be nearing an end to the tree population in 200 years. I think the parks will all be gone, used for some urban development like housing or more stores. I also think the National Zoo will be replaced. It occupies a huge part of the city, and I really think one mayor will come in and be able to use politics to eliminate the zoo in order to put more development. I also think a big problem in the city today is gentrification, so in 200 years I think the problem will have escalated. DC’s lower income areas are being remodeled and huge development is occurring. In turn, the people who live there are being pushed out. This causes a huge environmental problem because not only is more development happening, but more people become attracted to areas which brings more cars giving off gases and more consumption. I think in 200 years the whole city will be gentrified and therefore less environmentally friendly. I think there will be a lot more apartment complexes, and probably even small communities within the city. For example, a new apartment building will go up and along with it, a grocery store, a salon, restaurants and clothing retailers. I think they will try to squeeze in any type of commercial place that they can in order to appeal to consumers.

I hope that in 200 years the city will be transformed into a very modern and environmentally savvy place that citizens would love to live in. Since the cost of living here is already extremely high, I think it should be a place where you actually get something special for your money. In 200 years, DC should be the “green city”, somewhere that people know is expensive to live, but also is almost entirely green in the way that they do business, hold classes at universities and in all commercial businesses. The government should promote this, and therefore there would be laws in place that state all existing businesses, residences and private establishments have to convert their facilities and practices to be eighty percent green. This doesn’t have to exactly be the law, but something like it would be a great start. I would love to see the parks and neighborhoods with backyards still exist in DC in 200 years, because I think it is the green space tucked away that really makes the city alive and interesting, not to mention green!