What’s the most horribly planned community in the dc area?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tysons

Many years ago, I worked for an ad agency in LA. Our clients were luxury brands like Tiffany and Cartier. While developing advertising plans to support their retail stores, “Tyson’s” was always a key market for the client. Since I had never lived in the DC area, I envisioned a super luxurious Beverly Hills / Rodeo Drive type shopping area, our perhaps an outdoor shopping center like Fashion Island. When I moved to DC five years ago, I was so excited to finally see Tysons! I drove around and around, thinking there was some hidden gem of a high street/shopping area that I kept missing. Nope, Tysons is just a convergence of highways, strip malls and parking lots. I just couldn’t believe the disconnect between my perception and the reality of Tyson’s.

Tysons isn't a neighborhood or a community. There are only apartment buildings/condos there. The people who live near Tysons live in Vienna, Pimmit, Falls Church and frankly avoid the Tysons Corner area like the plague unless they work there..

So you think apartment and condo dwellers can’t be considered part of a community?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:National Harbor in Maryland. There's one way in and out, it's always a traffic nightmare.

This is a contender. You pay $850k+ for a townhouse in a dense setting and there isn’t even a basic grocery store. I know someone living in National Harbor and they said all of their neighbors are constantly driving across the river to Alexandria for much of their groceries/shopping/dining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:National Harbor in Maryland. There's one way in and out, it's always a traffic nightmare.

This is a contender. You pay $850k+ for a townhouse in a dense setting and there isn’t even a basic grocery store. I know someone living in National Harbor and they said all of their neighbors are constantly driving across the river to Alexandria for much of their groceries/shopping/dining.

Grocery I am not sure but there is shopping and dining nearby.

[Anonymous]

I think “town squares” in the suburbs are badly designed with narrow streets and few street parking, supposedly to make them more walkable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tysons

Many years ago, I worked for an ad agency in LA. Our clients were luxury brands like Tiffany and Cartier. While developing advertising plans to support their retail stores, “Tyson’s” was always a key market for the client. Since I had never lived in the DC area, I envisioned a super luxurious Beverly Hills / Rodeo Drive type shopping area, our perhaps an outdoor shopping center like Fashion Island. When I moved to DC five years ago, I was so excited to finally see Tysons! I drove around and around, thinking there was some hidden gem of a high street/shopping area that I kept missing. Nope, Tysons is just a convergence of highways, strip malls and parking lots. I just couldn’t believe the disconnect between my perception and the reality of Tyson’s.

Tysons isn't a neighborhood or a community. There are only apartment buildings/condos there. The people who live near Tysons live in Vienna, Pimmit, Falls Church and frankly avoid the Tysons Corner area like the plague unless they work there..

So you think apartment and condo dwellers can’t be considered part of a community?

NP. They can be, but the way Tysons is designed doesn't allow for it. Hard to form communities when you have to cross ten lane roads and traverse giant parking lots to walk anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Pretty much the entirety of the DMV postwar suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hyattsville on the University Park side. No planning. No sidewalks but tons of pedestrians. They clearly gave no thought as to how it would work. Now with the never-ending Purple line construction, it's even worse.

Does the purple line even go there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Route 29 in Montgomery County is a chaotic, poorly planned corridor that feels more like a highway someone dropped in the middle of a suburban experiment. It’s a major road, yet you’ll see people walking along the shoulder because there are barely any sidewalks—just dirt paths worn down over time. It’s incredibly unsafe and makes the whole area feel disconnected and neglected.

The entire surrounding area was master-planned in the 1970s to be affordable, and that legacy is still visible today. Many of the apartment complexes were originally built with 50% low-income units, and townhomes were sold for around $50,000 with government-backed low-income mortgages. There’s nothing inherently wrong with affordability, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The planning was car-centric and patchy, with no cohesive sense of neighborhood design.

Castle Boulevard is a perfect example—just rows of garden apartments, many of them in poor condition, that end abruptly at a townhome complex. Subdivisions all blend together, built from the same tired 1980s designs, and the roads are full of potholes and poorly patched repairs. A significant portion of the housing is still subsidized or Section 8, and while there’s absolutely a need for that kind of housing, the lack of long-term investment in infrastructure and aesthetics has left the area looking neglected.

And yet—despite the similarities to adjacent parts of Prince George’s County in terms of school quality and housing stock—prices are higher here. For what? The same congested roads, similar schools, and aging housing? At that point, you might as well move to PG County and save some money.

I actually love the area—there’s history, diversity, and a kind of charm if you look closely. But damn, it was badly planned.

I live over in this general area. That particular strip now has a lot of crime & other issues and townhouses without updates are 500k. It’s insane. Especially considering you have to drive EVERYWHERE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Route 29 in Montgomery County is a chaotic, poorly planned corridor that feels more like a highway someone dropped in the middle of a suburban experiment. It’s a major road, yet you’ll see people walking along the shoulder because there are barely any sidewalks—just dirt paths worn down over time. It’s incredibly unsafe and makes the whole area feel disconnected and neglected.

The entire surrounding area was master-planned in the 1970s to be affordable, and that legacy is still visible today. Many of the apartment complexes were originally built with 50% low-income units, and townhomes were sold for around $50,000 with government-backed low-income mortgages. There’s nothing inherently wrong with affordability, but the execution left a lot to be desired. The planning was car-centric and patchy, with no cohesive sense of neighborhood design.

Castle Boulevard is a perfect example—just rows of garden apartments, many of them in poor condition, that end abruptly at a townhome complex. Subdivisions all blend together, built from the same tired 1980s designs, and the roads are full of potholes and poorly patched repairs. A significant portion of the housing is still subsidized or Section 8, and while there’s absolutely a need for that kind of housing, the lack of long-term investment in infrastructure and aesthetics has left the area looking neglected.

And yet—despite the similarities to adjacent parts of Prince George’s County in terms of school quality and housing stock—prices are higher here. For what? The same congested roads, similar schools, and aging housing? At that point, you might as well move to PG County and save some money.

I actually love the area—there’s history, diversity, and a kind of charm if you look closely. But damn, it was badly planned.

I live over in this general area. That particular strip now has a lot of crime & other issues and townhouses without updates are 500k. It’s insane. Especially considering you have to drive EVERYWHERE

What are the other issues, and also how is the crime? I was looking at homes over there.

[Anonymous]

Columbia, Md

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, Md

What’s bad about it?

[Anonymous]

I went to someone’s house in Potomac Shores in Dumfries and it was so weird. I am surprised it would appeal to anyone.

[Anonymous]

What about all the "new destinations" to live and shop:
Park Potomac
Pike and Rose

I am sure there are others, but for those who don't live there, parking is a nightmare. I avoid these locations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about all the "new destinations" to live and shop:
Park Potomac
Pike and Rose

I am sure there are others, but for those who don't live there, parking is a nightmare. I avoid these locations

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tysons

Many years ago, I worked for an ad agency in LA. Our clients were luxury brands like Tiffany and Cartier. While developing advertising plans to support their retail stores, “Tyson’s” was always a key market for the client. Since I had never lived in the DC area, I envisioned a super luxurious Beverly Hills / Rodeo Drive type shopping area, our perhaps an outdoor shopping center like Fashion Island. When I moved to DC five years ago, I was so excited to finally see Tysons! I drove around and around, thinking there was some hidden gem of a high street/shopping area that I kept missing. Nope, Tysons is just a convergence of highways, strip malls and parking lots. I just couldn’t believe the disconnect between my perception and the reality of Tyson’s.

Tysons isn't a neighborhood or a community. There are only apartment buildings/condos there. The people who live near Tysons live in Vienna, Pimmit, Falls Church and frankly avoid the Tysons Corner area like the plague unless they work there..

So you think apartment and condo dwellers can’t be considered part of a community?

Yeah, they're typically transient and only live there for a few years. Definitely not a ton of families in those, PP, and you know it.