Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County is an   of about 203,000 residents in the  of, in the , directly across the  from   Originally part of the , the land now comprising the county was  in a ,  act of  that took effect in. At a land area of 26 square miles, it is geographically the smallest self-governing county in the United States. Arlington was ranked as the most educated city (percentage of residents with graduate degrees) in 2006 by .

It is the location of, , and.

General Characteristics
As of, , the estimated population was 202,800. Strictly speaking, it is inaccurate to refer to it as the city of Arlington. All cities within the state are of counties, though towns may be incorporated within counties. However, Arlington has no existing incorporated towns because law prevents the creation of any new municipality within a county that has a  greater than 1,000 persons per square mile. Its is the  of Arlington, which is co-extensive with Arlington County; however, the neighborhood of  is  often thought of as seat by residents.

Alexandria County, District center
Once part of in the, the area that contains Arlington County was ceded to the U.S. government by the Commonwealth of Virginia to a  team that  led placed them in their present locations.

In, the established the final limits of the federal territory that would house the nation's capital as a square with 10 miles on each side, the maximum area permitted by , Section 8, of the. However, the legislation that established these limits contained a provision that prevented the U.S. government from locating any federal offices within the portion of the territory that Virginia had ceded.

When Congress moved to the new District of Columbia in, it enacted legislation that divided the District into two counties: (1) the county of Washington, which lay on the east side of the Potomac River, and (2) , which lay on the west side of the River. Alexandria County contained at the time a rural area that included the present Arlington County, as well as the urbanized town of Alexandria (now "Old Town" Alexandria), a port that was located on the Potomac River in the southeastern part of the present City of.

Although some residents of Alexandria County had earlier hoped, for better or for worse, to benefit from the land sales and increased business activity that the federal capital's location might inspire, this benefit failed to appear. Instead, political and economic competition grew with the town of, a port that was located in Washington County adjacent to the capital city (Washington City).

As the U.S. government could not establish any federal offices in the County, and as the economically important (C&O Canal) on the north side of the Potomac River favored Georgetown, Alexandria's economy stagnated. This stagnation worsened as some of Georgetown's residents opposed federal efforts to maintain the, which connected the C&O Canal in Georgetown to Alexandria's port. Further, as they were residents of the District of Columbia, Alexandria's citizens had no representation in Congress and could not vote in federal elections.

In addition, Alexandria had become a port and market for the. As there was increasing talk of in the nation's, some Alexandrians feared that the local economy would suffer if the federal government abolished slavery in the District of Columbia.

Simultaneously, there arose in Virginia an active abolitionist movement that created a division on the question of slavery in (Later, during the, Virginia's division on the slavery issue contributed to the formation of  by its most anti-slavery counties). Pro-slavery Virginians recognized that Alexandria County could provide two new representatives who favored slavery in the General Assembly if the County joined the Commonwealth.

As a result, a movement grew to separate Alexandria County from the District of Columbia. After a referendum, the county's residents petitioned the U.S. Congress and the Virginia legislature to permit the County to return to Virginia. The area was on,.

In, the of Alexandria was incorporated from a portion of Alexandria County. This created an ambiguity, as two separate legal entities had similar names. Alexandria County eventually renamed itself in to Arlington County. The county's new name derived from that of, whose own name had derived from that of  former home, , which since the  had been located within the cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery


Arlington National Cemetery is an American military cemetery established during the on the grounds of  General 's home, Arlington House (also known as the Custis-Lee Mansion). It is directly across the from, north of. With nearly 300,000 people buried there, Arlington National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the United States.

Arlington House was named after the Custis family's homestead on Virginia's Eastern Shore. It is associated with the families of Washington, Custis, and Lee. Begun in and completed in, it was built by. After his father died, young Custis was raised by his grandmother and her second husband, the first, at. Custis, a far-sighted agricultural pioneer, painter, playwright, and orator, was interested in perpetuating the memory and principles of George Washington. His house became a "treasury" of Washington heirlooms.

In, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh. Their only child to survive infancy was Mary Anna Randolph Custis, born in. Young Robert E. Lee, whose mother was a cousin of Mrs. Custis, frequently visited Arlington. Two years after graduating from, Lee married Mary Custis at Arlington on ,. For 30 years, Arlington House was home to the Lees. They spent much of their married life traveling between duty stations and Arlington, where six of their seven children were born. They shared this home with Mary's parents, the Custis family.

When George Washington Parke Custis died in, he left the Arlington estate to Mrs. Lee for her lifetime and afterwards to the Lees' eldest son,.

The U.S. government confiscated Arlington House and 200 s (81 s) of ground immediately from the wife of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The government designate the grounds as a military cemetery on, , by. In, after many years in the lower courts, the matter of the ownership of Arlington National Cemetery was brought before the. The Court decided that the property rightfully belonged to the Lee family. The then appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of the property from the Lee family.

Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the through the military actions in  and. Pre-Civil War dead were re-interred after.

The, also known as the , stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, DC. President is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with  and some of their children. His grave is marked with an "Eternal Flame." His brother Senator is also buried nearby. Another, , who was also a of the U.S. Supreme Court, is the only other President buried at Arlington.

Other frequently visited sites near the cemetery are the, commonly known as the "Iwo Jima Memorial", the , the , the and the  U.S. Army's.

Town of Potomac


The was formerly located in Arlington County adjacent to the massive  of the. A, its proximity to Washington, D.C., made it a popular place for employees of the U.S. government to live. Potomac was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The town was annexed by the of  in 1930. Today, in Alexandria, the Town of Potomac Historic District designates this historic portion of the city, and includes 1,840 acres (7.45 km²) and 690 buildings. The Town of Potomac was added to the in 1992.

The Pentagon


in Arlington is the headquarters of the. It was dedicated on, and it is the world's largest office building. Although it is located in Arlington, the requires that "Washington, D.C." be used as the place name in mail addressed to the assigned to.

The building is -shaped in plan and houses about 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel. It has five floors and each floor has five ring corridors. The Pentagon's principle law enforcement arm is the, the agency that protects the Pentagon and various other DoD jurisdictions throughout the National Capital Region.

Built during the early years of, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office buildings in the world. It has 17.5 miles (28 km) of corridors, yet it takes only seven minutes or so to walk between any two points in the building.

It was built from 680,000 tons of sand and gravel dredged from the nearby that were processed into 435,000 cubic yards (330,000 m³) of concrete and molded into the pentagon shape. Very little steel was used in its design due to the needs of the war effort.

The open-air central plaza in the Pentagon is the world's largest "no-salute, no-cover" area (where U.S. servicemembers need not wear hats nor salute). The snack bar in the center is informally known as the, a nickname originating during the when the Pentagon was targeted by Soviet s.

During World War II, the earliest portion of the was built in Arlington in conjunction with the parking and traffic plan for the Pentagon. This early, opened in 1943, and completed to in 1952, is now part of.

September 11, 2001 attacks
Sixty years to the day after construction workers broke ground for the Pentagon, the building was seriously damaged by a terrorist attack on. It was one of three major buildings hit by airliners hijacked by members of, a militant terrorist organization.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 189,453 people, 86,352 households, and 39,290 families residing in Arlington. The was 2,828/km² (7,323/mi²), the highest of any county in Virginia. There were 90,426 housing units at an average density of 1,350/km² (3,495/mi²).

The racial makeup of the county was 68.94%, 9.35% or , 0.35% , 8.62% , 0.08% , 8.33% from , and 4.34% from two or more races. or of any race were 18.62% of the population.

28% of Arlington residents were foreign-born.

In 2005 Arlington's population was 64.7% non-Hispanic whites. 8.8% of the population was African-American. Native Americans constituted 0.4% of the population. Asians now outnumbered African-Americans, constituting 8.9% of the population. Latinos were 16.1% of the population.

There were 86,352 households out of which 19.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.30% were living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.50% were non-families. 40.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out with 16.50% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 42.40% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.70 males.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the county was $87,350, and the median income for a family was $116,114. Males had a median income of $51,011 versus $41,552 for females. The for the county was $37,706. About 5.00% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over. In 2004 the average single-family home sales price passed $600,000, approximately triple the price less than a decade before, and the median topped $550,000.

Arlington CDP population history

 * 1960.....163,401
 * 1970.....174,284
 * 1980.....152,299
 * 1990.....170,936
 * 2000.....189,453
 * 2006.....200,226
 * 2007.....202,800 (estimated)

See, Arlington Demographics & Statistics

Development Patterns


Arlington has won awards for its "" strategies. For over 30 years, the government has had a policy of concentrating much of its new development near transit facilities, such as stations and the high-volume bus lines of. Within the transit areas, the government has a policy of encouraging and  and. Outside of those areas, the government usually limits density increases, but makes exceptions for larger projects that are near major highways, such as in, near (the ).

Much of Arlington's development in the last generation has been concentrated around 7 of the County's 11 Metrorail stations. However, development elsewhere in the County has recently replaced many undeveloped lots and small single-family dwellings with  and larger homes.

Increasing land values and re-development (most of which is as-of-right development) has diminished Arlington's tree canopy and reduced the supply of existing. To address coverage and the construction of larger homes the County has recently limited the allowable coverage on some single-family lots.

In addition, the County implemented in an affordable housing ordinance that requires most developers to contribute significant affordable housing resources, either in units or through a cash contribution, in order to obtain the highest allowable amounts of increased building density in new development projects, most of which are planned near Metrorail station areas. The County also permits greater heights and densities through zoning ordinance bonuses in exchange for the creation of additional on-site affordable housing units, at a target level of 1:1 (i.e. one committed affordable unit for every market-rate unit; since 2004, and including condominium projects, actual average production has been closer to 2:3.)

The County focuses its efforts to preserve, create and maintain for-sale and rental affordable housing units to whose income is not greater than 80% of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Median Income (AMI); rental units are committed for no fewer than 30 years at no greater than 60% AMI. AMI tables are published annually by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Government
Arlington is governed by a five person County Board, whose members are elected to four year terms.

Arlington also elects four Members of the 100 Member and two Members of the. State Senators are elected to four year terms, while Delegates are elected to two year terms.

Arlington has an elected five person School Board, whose members are elected to four year terms. Virginia law does not permit political parties to place school board candidates on the ballot, but as in many other Virginia jurisdictions, most Arlington school board candidates run with an explicit party endorsement.

Arlington also has several, all of whom are elected County-wide.

Note: Arlington is represented by three of the four openly gay elected officials in Virginia. Arlington County Board member Jay Fisette was the first in 1997. Adam Ebbin became the first openly gay Delegate in 2003. In 2006, School Board member Sally Baird became the first openly lesbian elected official in Virginia. (The fourth openly gay elected official is Councilman Paul Smedberg of the City of Alexandria Council.)

Presidential Election Results
Each year's winner in the general election is listed first below.


 * - 31.3%, 67.6%  
 * - 34.2%, 60.1%  
 * - 60.5% , 34.6%
 * - 57.8% , 31.9%
 * - 45.4%, 53.5%  
 * - 48.2%,  51.3%  
 * - 46.1% , 39.6%
 * - 50.4% , 47.9%
 * - 59.4% , 39%
 * - 45.9% , 42.6%
 * - 61.7% , 37.7%
 * - 51.4% , 48.1%

Airports
Arlington is the home of.

Public transportation
Arlington is served by the, and  lines of the. Additionally, it is served by (commuter rail),  (regional public bus), and a local public bus system,  (ART).

Roads in Arlington

 * Main articles: and 

Arlington is traversed by two s, in the northern part of the county and  in the southern part, both with s or restrictions. In addition, the county is served by a number of urban s and the.

Bicycle paths
Arlington has a number of off-road bicycle trails, all of which travel along the and its tributaries,, or major highways. One of these trails, the, runs for 17 miles along the Potomac, continuing through to 's plantation. In Arlington's southeast corner, immediately south of, the Mount Vernon Trail connects to the Trail, which travels westward through Arlington in a stream valley.

In addition, a, the (W&OD Trail), travels northwest for 45 miles from the Arlington/Alexandria boundary at  through , , , and  to the town of  in western. Other notable trails include both the, which travels westward beside Interstate 66 through Arlington, connecting the Mount Vernon Trail in with the W&OD Trail, and the Bluemont Junction Trail, a rail trail that travels between the W&OD Trail and , where it connects with the Custis Trail.

In addition, a partially off-road bike route bisects the County while traveling westward from Arlington National Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial and to Falls Church while travelling as a paved trail near or adjacent to Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50) or within the Boulevard's service road. Further, many of the County's major streets contain designated bicycle lanes near their curbs or parking lanes.

Geography
Arlington is the smallest self-governing county in the United States (the largest county-level jurisdiction being Borough, ). According to the, the county has a total area of 67 (26 ), of which about 12  (4.6 ) is federal property. There are two counties that are geographically smaller than Arlington in the United States (but which have no form of self-government):, (13.2 square miles) and ,  (24.7 square miles).

Arlington is located at 38.88028°N, -77.10833°W (38.880344, -77.108260). It is bounded on the north by, on the west by the City of , on the south by the City of , and on the east by the ; across the river is the City of.

A person standing on Memorial Bridge in Arlington is exactly as far from the, Virginia's western , as they are from downtown -- 394 miles (636 km).

Neighborhoods in Arlington
There are numerous unincorporated neighborhoods within Arlington that are commonly referred to by name as if they were distinct towns. The county characterizes some of these neighborhoods - particularly those located at Metrorail stations and other major transportation corridors - as "urban villages." These are usually centers with commercial activity. These include:

There are also numerous neighborhoods which are largely residential including:

Arlington includes a large selection of s, which were offered between 1908 and 1940, Considered to be of exceptional quality, in modern times, these houses are sought after by many home buyers. As well, Arlington features some of the first and among the best examples of post-World War II garden style apartment complexes in the U.S., some of which were designed by architect Mihran Mesrobian.

Neighborhood Historic Preservation Districts
A number of the County's residential neighborhoods and larger garden-style apartment complexes are listed in the and/or designated under the County government's zoning ordinance as local Historic Preservation Districts. These include Arlington Village, Arlington Forest, Ashton Heights, Buckingham, Cherrydale, Claremont, Colonial Village, Fairlington, Lyon Park, Lyon Village, Maywood, Penrose, Waverly Hills and Westover.

Neighborhood Conservation Plans
Many of Arlington's neighborhoods participate in the Arlington County government's Neighborhood Conservation Program (NCP). Each of these neighborhoods has a Neighborhood Conservation Plan that describes the neighborhood's characteristics, history and recommendations for capital improvement projects that the County government funds through the NCP.

Postal areas
The three-digit prefix 222 uniquely identifies Arlington. Delivery areas north of Arlington Boulevard have odd-numbered ZIP codes (22201, 22203, 22205, 22207, 22209, and 22213), while delivery areas south of Arlington Boulevard have even-numbered ZIP codes (22202, 22204, and 22206). ZIP codes assigned to es, large mailers, and military facilities do not follow that rule.

Primary and secondary schools
Arlington is served by the system. The public high schools in Arlington are, , , and the program. Arlington is also home to, a high school.

Arlington County spends about half of its revenue on education, making it one of the top ten per-pupil spenders in the nation (as of 2004, over $13,000, the second highest amount spent on education in the United States, behind ).

Through an agreement with Public Schools approved by the school board in 1999, up to 26 students residing in Arlington per grade level may be enrolled at the  in  at a cost to Arlington of approximately $8000 per student. For the first time in 2006, more students (36) were offered admission in the selective high school than allowed by the previously established enrollment cap.

Colleges and universities
is the only university with its main campus located in Arlington. Founded in 1950 by the as Marymount College of Virginia located on North Glebe Road. The school has expanded into offering complete 4 year undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees and recently doctorial degrees in Fall 2004. The school expanded in the early 1990's and opened an additional campus in Ballston. They also have a Reston Center located in.

operates an in the  area between  and. The campus houses the, School of Public Policy and other programs. The University is commencing construction on a new building in October 2007, which is expected to open in 2010. This new building will provide additional space for the School of Law and other graduate programs.

operates a campus for undergraduate classes along with the for its graduate classes, in. The University established the campus in 2001.

is a regionally accredited institution offering postgraduate programs in Psychology with a Roman Catholic perspective. Its campus is in the Crystal City neighborhood.

University of Management and Technology is a distance learning university that is headquartered in Rosslyn.

, a local branch of is located in the Ames Center across from the Rosslyn Metro Station.

has a campus in Arlington as well as its corporate headquarters.

In addition,, , , , , , , the , the , and all have campuses in Arlington.

Sister cities
Arlington has three, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):


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