Our Fair City of Transients
My impending return to DC reminds me of what frustrates me about this city: so much of the population is transitory.
New politicians mean new staff. The fleet of government offices brings tons of summer interns. And these people don't stay. I can't find numbers but I have lived in DC for about a year and have yet to meet someone who grew up in the city and whose family has been here for generations. Of course there are permanent residents. My bet is that the permanent group is largely African-American and largely working class or poor. Again, I couldn't find official stats but here are some interesting ones about the city overall.
On top of that, DC has a large commuter population. It almost doubles in size during the work week. Those commuters spend 71 hours a year in traffic congestion, ranking second-highest in the country. That doesn't make happy workers.
To sum it up, John F. Kennedy said it well: "Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." I have a year and a half to be convinced otherwise.
New politicians mean new staff. The fleet of government offices brings tons of summer interns. And these people don't stay. I can't find numbers but I have lived in DC for about a year and have yet to meet someone who grew up in the city and whose family has been here for generations. Of course there are permanent residents. My bet is that the permanent group is largely African-American and largely working class or poor. Again, I couldn't find official stats but here are some interesting ones about the city overall.
On top of that, DC has a large commuter population. It almost doubles in size during the work week. Those commuters spend 71 hours a year in traffic congestion, ranking second-highest in the country. That doesn't make happy workers.
To sum it up, John F. Kennedy said it well: "Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." I have a year and a half to be convinced otherwise.
posted by Elaine at 11:57 PM
1 Comments:
While I spend a considerable amount of time commuting into DC, I spend precious little of it sitting in traffic. Rather I do what any sane person should be doing . . . I ride my bike!
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