Washington, D.C. or the District of Columbia (the city and the district are coterminous), is the capital of the United States of America. It is a planned city, designed specifically to house the federal government, and is not part of any state. Its history, beautiful architecture, and excellent cultural centers attract millions each year. Washington D.C. is bordered by the states of Virginia and Maryland.
UNDERSTAND:
A city of many names, Washington, D.C. is known to locals as simply DC and it is rare to hear it called anything else within the district. If you call it Washington, you may be misunderstood—this term is usually reserved for the Federal Government residing in the capital, as opposed to the city itself. Lastly, the full title Washington, D.C., and the official name, District of Columbia, are rarely used unless the speaker is either trying to clearly distinguish the city from the state or is a bureaucrat.
Washington, D.C. was established in 1791 by an act of the infant United States Congress. To avoid a dispute between the various states and regions about which city should be the capital of the new nation, Congress established a brand new city, outside any existing state. The District of Columbia was carved out of Virginia and Maryland, and the new city was built (the land ceded by Virginia was returned to that state in 1846 and now comprises Arlington County and much of the City of Alexandria). Designed by architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant according to Enlightenment-era rationalist philosophy, Washington (named after the country's first president) was envisioned as a kind of Socratic wildlife refuge for America's new philosopher-kings.
Fast-forward two hundred years, and you'll see that the Founding Fathers' vision has been partially fulfilled. Washington, D.C. is a very diverse city of native residents and recent arrivals from across the nation who come to serve as employees of the many federal government departments and government contractors. As home to federal decision-makers, the city's attention is sometimes on topics unique to the city such as advertisements for military technology from large defense contractors vying for brainshare among Pentagon employees. But perhaps most of the capital's time is taken up with lobbying and litigation; DC is It is a very "young" city, with a large percentage of the population under 30.
Relatively few residents have lived here all their lives. Most recent census figures report that about 50% of the population has relocated in the past 5 years. Virtually all cultures, languages and religions are present and accepted. Spanish-speaking Washingtonians are overwhelmingly Central American, mostly from El Salvador. Most of DC's African immigrants hail from West African origin, but there are also significant and visible Somali and Ethiopian communities. Significant and growing numbers of South Asian and Middle Eastern inhabitants are present. Most of the city's native born population is comprised of African-Americans, who are in turn a clear majority within the District. Just outside the city limits, DC's immigrant population is even more notable—according to the 2000 U.S. Census, 980,620 of the metropolitan area's 7,608,070 residents were born in another country. Few cities even in the American "melting pot" can match DC's international character.
Home to the somewhat dysfunctional US Federal government, DC is also a comically and occasionally dangerously dysfunctional city. DC's city government, itself underfunded and enjoying a bad reputation for corruption, is subject to overrule by the U.S. Congress, a body in which its residents have no voting representation. To make things worse, the US congress often intervenes in city government while subordinating local concerns to national, partisan squabbles. Hence, many of the District's license plates sport the bitter slogan "Taxation Without Representation." Moreover, DC does not belong to a state, so its municipal government is required to provide all the services that would normally be provided by state governments, but does so on a much tighter budget. In addition to the problems caused by its political status, DC also suffers from some very serious cultural divides within its population. DC is simultaneously inhabited by some of the most privileged and underprivileged US citizens and the ideals of a temporary governing, professional population often conflict with the needs of this real-world metropolis' permanent residents. Another hugely important cultural divide is the general rift between the city's poor east, which is largely African-American, and its wealthy west. This divide is causing some tension today as a rapid wave of gentrification is riding in the wake of young professionals, whose tight budgets drive them to move into poor neighborhoods in search of low rent.
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