The L'Enfant plan
L'Enfant's master plan for the city essentially created a diamond divided into 4 quadrants, bordered by the Potomac River, with the Capitol roughly at the center. Streets were arrayed in a grid pattern cut by diagonal avenues, with east-west streets named with letters, north-south streets named with numbers, and diagonal avenues given names. Most major streets converge on the Capitol, allowing it to be seen from most points in the city. The city itself is low and sprawling--a unique skyline created by a city ordinance that allows buildings only as tall as the neighboring street is wide, plus 20 ft.
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. was founded in 1790 as a dedicated district of government. An independent distict bordered by Maryland and Virginia, D.C. is the capital of the United States and the southern terminus of the Northest Corridor spine. Unlike Boston and New York which formed organically as major urban centers, D.C. was a carefully planned urban area from its inception. George Washington personally selected the 10-mile square area that would contain the district, and in 1791 Pierre Charles L'Enfant created an ultimate master-plan for the development of the city, focused around the National Mall. When the city plan became jumbled and diluted over the years, Congress initiated the McMillian Plan to restore the city to its original L'Enfant roots. Today, careful planning of the city remains evident in the rapid new real estate development throughout the city, particularly in the new NoMA neighborhood. Despite careful planning, D.C.'s transit system does not boast the same ease of access as Boston or New York. Larger distances between metro stations have influenced D.C.'s devleopment into a biking city.
plan form http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Photos: 4, 5, 9, and 10: Documentation of NoMA.
Photo 1: Capitol Building
Photo 2: Washington D.C. Skyline
Photo 3: Pierre L'Enfant's design for the District of Columbia.