Aerials of Washington, DC and some of its suburbs

[plinko]

Nice, aerials of DC seem to be rare on here. Pretty interesting.

[Paul in S.A TX]

I enjoyed my three trips to D.C/Va and MD, love the way everything is hidden behind trees, no freeway clutter like in Texas cities. At least from the freeway perspective.

[fleonzo]

Originally Posted by JCON

I suppose that all depends on how far you want to walk. I lived in DC for many years and I definitely felt confined in such a small area. It has nothing to do with good urban planning or favoring walkability over driving. The Federal City was only granted a very limited amount of space to build. The sad reality of DC for me is that I was actually forced to drive out to places like Falls Church and Adelphi/Langley Park to find the kind of ethnic diversity in shopping and dining that you would typically associate with a large city because of the lack of space. Believe it or not, there was actually a time when "Chinatown" actually had mainly chinese businesses and residents but they were priced out and had no where to go but suburban VA. As far as planning based on the automobile goes, look at every single community that makes up the DC area. Textbook sprawl. Really cool photos though, you really don't see a lot of DC aerials. I was able to pick out one of my old apartment buildings!

JCON: I've been saying that for years but I kept getting lambasted by locals down there...and I was born down there and still have family there (was there two weeks ago). Everytime I go down there it feels like the typical sprawl area (i.e. "textbook sprawl") excpet for the city of DC itself which still has alot of character to it! I think someone already mentioned it before but the low height limits hides the urban feel of the center of the DC. Great pics though!

[Cirrus]

You get lambasted because you don't differentiate between the sprawl and the good development that just happens to be outside the District, and unlike out-of-towners, you should know better.

Of course DC has lots and lots of sprawl, especially on the Virginia side. Northern Virginia outside the Beltway may as well be Atlanta or Dallas. No one disputes this.

[shakman]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

You get lambasted because you don't differentiate between the sprawl and the good development that just happens to be outside the District, and unlike out-of-towners, you should know better.

Of course DC has lots and lots of sprawl, especially on the Virginia side. Northern Virginia outside the Beltway may as well be Atlanta or Dallas. No one disputes this.

...and unfortunately Maryland and West Virginia side have it just as bad. Sprawl has done a great job with northern MoCo and southern Frederick County along I-270 and St Rt 355. I drive it everyday and I see many development annoucements especially along 355. There is a gap between the "new" Urbana and Frederick due to the Monocacy National Battlefield. For those who visit and like hiking, the battlefield has a lot of scenic trails.

[SHiRO]

Cool shots!