Ward 4 is a largely residential area located in the northernmost portion of the city, straddling the northwest and northeast quadrants. Georgia Avenue bisects the ward, and serves as its major commercial spine, extending from the Petworth neighborhood into downtown Silver Spring, Maryland to the north. Smaller, local commercial areas include 4th Street, NW in Takoma, Kennedy Street, NW in Brightwood and portions of 14th Street throughout the Ward. Petworth is the southernmost neighborhood in Ward 4, notable for its rich architectural variety of townhouses, broad boulevards and circles.
Brightwood, one of the largest neighborhoods in the city, sits in the center of the ward, and is made up of a variety of housing types, including townhouses, small apartment buildings, comfortable single-family homes, as well as the amazing Walter Reed Campus. Grand and gracious buildings line 16th Street, NW, including churches, schools, ambassadorial residences and private homes.
Fort Totten and Lamond-Riggs are both solid, middle class neighborhoods of apartments, townhouses, and single-family detached homes. The neighborhoods along 16th Street, such as Crestwood, 16th Street Heights, Colonial Village and Shepherd Park, contain large single-family detached homes and townhouses, nestled against Rock Creek Park and its tributary parks. The Takoma neighborhood abuts the City of Takoma Park, Maryland – together they made up a late 19th-century streetcar suburb, and now share a commercial center that straddles the DC/Maryland border and an architectural heritage emphasizing Victorian and bungalow style single-family homes.
Ward 4 also includes the neighborhoods of Barnaby Woods and Hawthorne and portions of the Chevy Chase neighborhood west of Rock Creek Park. This area is dominated by single-family detached homes.
Planning in Ward 4
Comprehensive Plan and Supporting Documents
Neighborhood and corridor plans for Ward 4 include:
- Former Walter Reed Army Medical Center Small Area Plan: approved by the DC Council in 2013.
- Central 14th Street Vision and Revitalization Strategy: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2012.
- Central 14th Street Retail Action Strategy: a SWOT analysis, retail demand analysis, strategy and preliminary planning diagrams completed in 2009.
- Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue Area Development Plan: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2009.
- Kennedy Street Corridor Revitalization Plan: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2008.
- Upper Georgia Avenue Area Land Development Plan: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2008.
- Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro Station Area and Corridor Plan: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2006.
- Takoma Central District Plan: a Small Area Plan approved by the DC Council in 2002.