The World Bank--yeah,
that World Bank--says that the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a $10-billion program to restore the Anacostia and redevelop the land on its banks--is a model for developing cities worldwide.
"The big lesson from Anacostia is the integrated approach, based on a comprehensive long-term plan involving urban, social, environmental and economic transformation," said Sameh Naguib Wahba, Acting Director, Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management, World Bank. "This was ground-truthed through extensive community and stakeholder consultations, and financed with creative instruments including land value capture."
Now governments in Latin America--the cities of Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Lima and more--are interested in replicating the city's model to make use of brownfields or vacant lots in their urban cores.
There's still plenty of improvements to be made in D.C., of course, especially east of the river as well as in the river itself, but the initiative is less than halfway complete.
Read more
here.