Will Petworth and Brightwood Soon Be Kid Central in DC?

• March 29, 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

Although the popular narrative has long been that parents move their children out of DC once they are of school-age, a new data analysis shows that may no longer ring true.

A post by District, Measured shows that the population of children in the District of Columbia has increased faster than the overall population during the last four years. However, the growth has shifted away from certain neighborhoods and towards others.

By comparing American Community Survey’s five-year average of census tract data from 2006-2010 with the summary from 2010-2014, District, Measured found that most children now live in neighborhoods just east of Rock Creek Park and at the southeastern edge of the city. The number of children east of the Anacostia River has dropped since 2010, but the two neighborhood clusters where children represent at least 30 percent of the population (Douglas-Shipley Terrace and Congress Heights-Bellevue-Washington Highlands) are located in this section of the city. As for west of Rock Creek Park, Chevy Chase is the only neighborhood where more than 20 percent of the population is children.

The most illustrative data point might be the influx of children to neighborhoods north of Columbia Heights and east of Rock Creek Park. Since 2010, the Brightwood Park-Crestwood-Petworth area saw the largest increase in the population of children, with over 2,000 added to the under-18 population.

“The city’s most expensive neighborhoods (when it comes to housing) are holding on to the school-age children but are not able to add young families,” the report stated. “While east of the river continues to have the highest concentration of children, if trends continue, neighborhoods near the 16th Street and Georgia Avenue corridors could claim this distinction soon.”

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/not_on_my_lawn_the_shifting_demographics_of_children_in_dc/11039