Washington in 200 years.

If Washington DC continues on its current development course, I agree with Kristen that the entire city will be come gentrified. Already, culturally significant areas around the city are being obliterated by corporate growth and the buildup of middle-class friendly, cookie cutter condominiums. I think this is a tragedy, as Washington is a historically rich and culturally diverse place that will suffer without a continuation of this legacy. If this gentrification were to happen it would push the poor into the surrounding suburbs and farther, necessitating the development of a more extensive public transportation system. Additionally, I agree with the idea that green space will be used for development, although I believe that with more housing development for the upper-middle class will come a high demand for some green areas to be left alone. I think currently there's a really good culture of organic farmers markets within the city and I can't imagine this changing, especially if the city continues to grow as a home for wealthy, young people.

In 200 years ideally DC would look both really different and really similar. In differences I would hope to see the installation of tram car systems to expedite and better the transportation system. These could potentially be run on some sort of magnetic rail system that is awesome and carbon friendly (I sort of made that up, but I imagine somebody had ideas for magnet energy!?). Additionally, I would advocate for more high rise (LEED certified, of course) buildings in the downtown area to avoid development spreading outwards toward residential neighborhoods. I would also like to see the refurbishment of many low income neighborhood parks and gathering places, in addition to refurbishment of older homes into mixed income housing. In terms of what would stay the same, I'd like the charm of the old residential areas to persist, much of which depends on keeping property taxes low enough and the minimum wage high enough to allow the diverse range of people who live there now to stay. It would be essential, in this ideal city, that the gathering spots and parks are maintained and stay as beautiful and protected as they are now. I would advise the government to stop building memorials to wars and dead presidents and start building ties in the community by increasing funding for the arts so that local artists could paint more murals and organizers could fund more free concerts and screenings around the city.