FHA Loans in District of Columbia
About This State and its People, Places, and Industries
Washington, D.C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. Article One of the United States Constitution provides for a federal district, distinct from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the federal territory until an act of Congress in 1871 established a single, unified municipal government for the whole District. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, which is located on the country's Pacific coast.The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. The District has a resident population of 599,657; because of commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.3 million, the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the country.
The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are located in the District, as are many of the nation's monuments and museums. Washington, D.C. hosts 174 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The headquarters of other institutions such as trade unions, lobbying groups, and professional associations are also located in the District.
The city is governed by a mayor and a 13-member city council. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over Washington, D.C., and may overturn local laws. Residents of the District therefore have less self-governance than residents of the states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate, but no senators. D.C. residents could not vote in presidential elections until the ratification of the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1961.
In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the District's population at 599,657 residents, continuing a trend of population growth in the city since the 2000 Census, which recorded 572,059 residents. During the workweek, however, the number of commuters from the suburbs into the city swells the District's population by an estimated 71.8% in 2005, to a daytime population of over one million people.[72] The Washington Metropolitan Area, which includes the surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia, is the ninth-largest in the United States with more than five million residents. When combined with Baltimore and its suburbs, the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area has a population exceeding eight million residents, the fourth-largest in the country.
According to the 2007 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population distribution of Washington, D.C. is 55.6% Black or African American, 36.3% White, 3.1% Asian, and 0.2% American Indian. Individuals from other races made up 4.8% of the District's population while individuals from two or more races made up 1.6%. In addition, Hispanics of any race made up 8.3% of the District's population. There were also an estimated 74,000 foreign immigrants living in Washington, D.C. in 2007.[74] Major sources of immigration include individuals from El Salvador, Vietnam, and Ethiopia, with some concentration of Salvadorans in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Washington, D.C. is home to five major professional men's teams. The Washington Wizards (National Basketball Association) and the Washington Capitals (National Hockey League) both play at the Verizon Center (right) in Chinatown. Nationals Park, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 2008, is home to the Washington Nationals (Major League Baseball). D.C. United (Major League Soccer) plays at RFK Stadium. The Washington Redskins (National Football League) play at nearby FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
The Washington area is also home to two women's professional sports teams. The Washington Mystics (WNBA) play at the Verizon Center, and the Washington Freedom (Women's Professional Soccer) play in nearby Germantown, Maryland and at RFK Stadium.[139] Other professional and semi-professional teams in Washington include: the Washington Kastles (World Team Tennis); the Washington D.C. Slayers (American National Rugby League); the Baltimore Washington Eagles (USAFL); the D.C. Divas (Independent Women's Football League); the D.C. Explosion (NAFL); and the Potomac Athletic Club RFC (Rugby Super League).
Washington is one of only 13 cities in the United States with teams from all four major men's sports: football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. When soccer is included, Washington is one of only eight cities to have all five professional men's sports. D.C. teams have won a combined 9 professional league championships: D.C. United has won four (the most in MLS history); the Washington Redskins have won three; and the Washington Wizards and the Washington Glory have each won a single championship. The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park hosts the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. The Marine Corps Marathon and the National Marathon are both held annually in Washington. The D.C. area is home to one regional sports television network, Comcast SportsNet (CSN), based in Bethesda, Maryland.
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