The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) commemorates its 100-year anniversary in 2024. This
milestone offers a unique opportunity to reflect on much more than the agency’s history — it offers an
opportunity to examine the evolution of planning in Washington, DC and the region, acknowledge inequities
created by past planning practices, and consider lessons learned to inform planning today and into the
future.
Highlights
Message from Executive Director Marcel Acosta
NCPC’s centennial offers a moment for celebration and reflection. We are
honored to carry on the legacy of planning for the nation’s capital.
Capital cities must respond to both the aspirational values of our
country, and the on-the-ground realities of meeting the needs of a
diverse, growing city and region where people live, work and play.
This centennial milestone offers a unique opportunity to reflect on much
more than the agency’s history — we will examine the evolution of
planning
in Washington, DC and the region, acknowledge inequities created by past
planning practices, and consider lessons learned to inform planning into
the
future.
Over the coming year, join us in a conversation about our agency’s work
and
the impact of planning on Washington, DC as it is experienced today.
NCPC Executive Director Marcel Acosta
Planning Pioneer or Pariah: Rethinking Harland Bartholomew’s Legacy
As a national planning leader and NCPC Chair, Harland Bartholomew
profoundly shaped the physical and social landscape of Washington, DC.
Join NCPC at the 50th anniversary of the DC History Conference for a
discussion that highlights his work, the complex and disturbing legacy,
and the racially inequitable impacts of his planning work on the city’s
residents and the physical form of the city. How do we recognize and
confront these historic inequities in meaningful ways today, including
through reform and thoughtful re-development?
The event will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 11:45 am – 1:00
pm at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC.
On Tuesday, January 23 NCPC kicked-off our Centennial with a fun,
fast-paced online event. Six thought-provoking planners from the region
each discussed an item from our new online planning library that
showcases maps, plans, and studies from the past 100 years. See what
they chose and then visit the library for more interesting documents.
