900.1 The Urban Design Element addresses the District's physical design and visual qualities. The element describes the ways in which different aspects of the District's landscape, especially its buildings, streets, and open spaces, work together to define impressions of Washington, DC and its neighborhoods. The design and appearance of physical space can create connections or barriers. It can create a sense of safety or a sense of discomfort. Ultimately, urban design shapes perceptions of the District and contributes to the way people interact and experience the environment around them.

900.2 The critical urban design issues facing Washington, DC are addressed in this element. These include:

1. Affirming civic identity through a focus on the historic intention of the District's design;
2. Strengthening neighborhood quality of life while accommodating growth and change;
3. Providing compatible infill development and appropriate transitions between varying uses and densities;
4. Supporting a vibrant urban life that enhances the accessibility, performance, and beauty of public streets and spaces; and
5. Realizing design excellence and innovation in architecture, infrastructure, and public spaces to elevate the human experience of the built environment.

900.3 The foundation of Washington, DC's design and character is based on continuous and deliberate planning to create a capital worthy of the nation. The streets, reservations, and vistas in the District's urban core collectively establish the historic L'Enfant City as the singular American example of a national capital conceived to physically express the ideals of a new republic. This historic plan serves as a significant urban design framework that both the federal and District governments have extended through subsequent generations of planning and the development of a signature system of public parks, lushly landscaped streets, and architecturally rich neighborhoods and buildings. Deeply rooted in the District's form are also natural qualities like the topography, streams, waterways, and sweeping promontory views that continue to shape the human experience of Washington, DC in both subtle and formative ways.

900.4 As a growing District, and to remain vital for future generations, Washington, DC should respond to the evolving needs of its residents, workers, and visitors and be

cognizant of how technology and innovation are transforming the way people engage with the public realm and built landscape. The continued planning efforts by the federal and District governments will build upon the planning legacy by shaping the District’s buildings, streets, and public spaces as places for people; celebrating the increasing diversity of people and institutions within the District; and elevating the nation’s capital as a sustainable and resilient place. By weaving the everyday experiences of people and contemporary design into the District’s historic plan, Washington, DC’s national image will be elevated.

900.5 Urban design objectives are interwoven throughout many of the Comprehensive Plan’s elements. In particular, the Land Use; Transportation; Environmental Protection; Historic Preservation; and Parks, Recreation, and Open Space elements all speak to the role that design should play in shaping the future of the District. The Comprehensive Plan as a whole recognizes the power of good design to transform and revitalize Washington, DC and its neighborhoods. The Urban Design Element includes diagrams to illustrate the principles suggested by its policies and actions. These diagrams are illustrative only.

SOURCE: District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; 31 DCR 1049 (March 9, 1984)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984, effective March 16, 1985 (D.C. Law 5-187; 32 DCR 873 (February 15, 1985)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-129; 37 DCR 55 (January 5, 1990)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1989 NCPC-Recommended Amendments, and Closing of Public Alleys in Square 669, S.O. 88-452, Act of 1990, effective May 23, 1990 (D.C. Law 8-132; 37 DCR 2213 (April 6, 1990)); as amended by District Government Land Use Temporary Amendment Act of 1994, effective October 1, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-190; 41 DCR 5360 (August 12, 1994)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendments Act of 1994, effective October 6, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-193; 41 DCR 5536 (August 19, 1994)); as amended by District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Amendment Act of 1994, effective March 21, 1995 (D.C. Law 10-235; 42 DCR 30 (January 6, 1995)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-110; 43 DCR 530 (February 9, 1996)); as amended by Second Technical Amendments Act of 1996 effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-255; 44 DCR 1271 (March 7, 1997)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 1998, effective April 27, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-275; 46 DCR 1441 (February 19, 1999)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 1999, effective April 12, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-91; 47 DCR 520 (January 28, 2000)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-300; 54 DCR 924 (February 2, 2007)); as amended by Technical Amendments Act of 2008, effective March 25, 2009 (D.C. Law 17-353; 56 DCR 1117 (February 6, 2009)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2010, effective April 8, 2011 (D.C. Law 18-361; 58 DCR 908 (February 4, 2011)); as amended by Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021, effective August 21, 2021 (D.C. Law 24-20; 68 DCR 006918 (July 16, 2021)).