Ward One is diversity.

From the majestic Victorians of upper Columbia Heights, to Adams Morgan’s renowned entertainment district, to Howard University, historic U Street and LeDroit Park, the ward is home to some extraordinary places—and some extraordinary people.

The neighborhoods of Ward One have a familiar ring to many people – LeDroit Park, U Street, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, Shaw, Park View, and Pleasant Plains.

Ward One is the smallest, most densely populated ward in the District of Columbia. It’s also the only ward where you’ll find no population group with a majority.

Thousands of African Americans, whites, Latinos, Vietnamese, Ethiopians and others make their home here. In just one of our ZIP codes, 20009, 136 countries are represented. The Brookings Institution says that’s the most diverse ZIP code in the entire region. And more than 40% of the public school students in Ward One do not speak English as their primary language. Indeed, according to an Urban Institute study in 2003, DC’s most diverse neighborhoods are within Ward One.

Entertainment contributes to the prosperity of Ward One. You’ll find numerous night spots and restaurants, the Lincoln and Tivoli Theatres, and the DC Arts Center. Ward One is home to nearly 250 businesses licensed to serve alcohol.

The ward is home to many small, local, minority-owned businesses – especially on U Street and Georgia Avenue. We have a police substation at 750 Park Road and the Third District headquarters at 16th and V. Houses of worship are plentiful, including one of the nation’s oldest Unitarian congregations, All Souls at 16th and Harvard, Sacred Heart, Freedom Baptist and Florida Avenue Baptist. Ward One schools include 16 public and numerous charter and private institutions as well as Howard University, founded in 1867.

Ward One treasures its green spaces, including Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park, Walter Pierce Park, Marie Reed and Banneker Recreation Centers, the National Zoo, and part of Rock Creek Park. No fewer than 28 Metrobus lines pass through the ward, which is also home to two MetroRail stations on the Green Line. Three other Metro stations are each within a block of the ward. Indeed, Ward One residents have fewer cars per capita than any other ward.

It is a young ward, with more than half of the residents are between the ages of 5 and 34. Homeownership is on the rise, but Ward One has a higher percentage of renters (71.6 percent) than any ward except Ward Eight.

Recent years have seen tremendous growth and development throughout the ward. In the past four years, more than 7 million square feet of commercial and residential space has come under construction in Ward One – at a cost of more than 1.3 billion dollars! All of this activity will mean an increase in the more than 73,000 people already living in the ward.

Our challenge is to preserve and expand affordable housing – and thus maintain our economic and other diversity -- while welcoming our new neighbors. We have not only preserved, but renovated more than 2,500 units of low-income housing along the 14th Street corridor alone. Also, new life has come to homes that were boarded up for years. In all, public and private sources have spent more than $256 million on Ward One’s affordable housing in just the last five years.

More than two-thirds of our residents have a high school diploma, and more than one third have graduated from college. Yet, our ward has the highest percentage of residents living below poverty of any ward west of the Anacostia River. At 22 percent, our poverty count is higher than the District’s average of 20 percent. The median household income in Ward One is $36,902.

Ward One residents are engaged. We have literally dozens of active community groups and civic associations. Please visit this list for a glimpse of all that activity.

For more information about Ward One, visit the Office of Planning website.