Greenbelt

Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New Deal Greenbelt Towns, the others being Greenhills, Ohio, and Greendale, Wisconsin. The cooperative community was conceived in 1935 by Undersecretary of Agriculture Rexford Guy Tugwell. The first tenants moved in to the town on September 30, 1937. The construction consisted of structures built in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Bauhaus architectural styles. The original federally built core of the city, known locally as Old Greenbelt, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark District. The city has a total area of 6.23 square miles (16,146,235 square meters), of which 6.18 square miles is land and 0.06 square miles of land is water. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located directly adjacent to Greenbelt's eastern boundary, utilizes a Greenbelt postal address (Greenbelt, MD 20768) It is partially within the former Goddard census-designated place. Two major highways pass through and have interchanges in Greenbelt: the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) and the National Park Service's owned and maintained portion of the BaltimoreWashington Parkway (unsigned MD 295) The southernmostmost part of Kenilworth Avenue forms a major interchange with both the BW Parkway and US 50 near the MarylandDC border.

Geography

Greenbelt is located at 38°5941N 76°5307W. According to United States Census Bureau data, as of January 1, 2018, the city has a total area of 6.23 square miles (16,146,235 square meters) Greenbelt's ZIP Codes are 20770, 20771, and 20768. The 20768 ZIP Code is assigned exclusively to post-office box (P.O. Box) addresses. Greenbelt Park, a unit of the National Park System, is located within the City of Green belt's boundaries, at its southernmost portion. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located directly adjacent to Greenbelt’s eastern boundary, utilizes a Greenbelt postal address (Greenbelt, MD 20768), as well. It is partially within the former Goddard census-designated place. The ZIP Code 20770 contains all residential and business addresses that correspond to actual physical locations inside the geographic boundaries of Greenbelt. The 20771 is the designated ZIP Code for Goddard Space flight Center, situated on federal government owned land that is contiguous with a portion of Green Belt's eastern border. The city's ZIP code is 20768, and it is located in the eastern part of the city, at the southernmost point of the Greenbelt metropolitan area. It has a population of 2,856. Green belt is located on the National Highway System, which runs through Maryland, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. and into Maryland.

Transportation

Two major highways pass through and have interchanges in Greenbelt: the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) and the National Park Service's owned and maintained portion of the BaltimoreWashington Parkway (unsigned MD 295) Greenbelt station is the northern terminus of the Washington Metro's Green Line. Commuter rail service to the station is provided by MARC Train's Camden Line, which connects the District of Columbia's Washington Union Station with Camden Station in Baltimore. The City operates limited transportation via the Greenbelt Connection, a 12-passenger wheelchair-accessible van. The GreenbeltBWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Express Line is a mode of transportation to and from the airport for airline passengers. Greenbelt residents were permitted to unlimited travel on Shuttle UM, with the purchase of a $10 annual pass, through a cityuniversity partnership between 2017 and 2019. This service ended in 2020. Metrobus, Prince George's County's THE BUS (routes 11 and 15X), and the University of Maryland's Shuttle-UM (route 143; University ID required) each have bus routes which serve the city of Greenbelt. The city is home to the National Transportation Museum, which is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It is also the home of the National Museum of American History, which was opened in 1903. The National Museum is located in the National Gallery of Art, which dates back to the 17th century. The Washington Metro operates 91 Metro stations, which includes the Green belt station.

History

Greenbelt, Maryland, was one of three Greenbelt Towns conceived in 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Brain Trust member Rexford Tugwell. The project was officially authorized in May 1935. Greenbelt was settled on September 30, 1937, as a public cooperative community in the New Deal era. The concept was at the same time both eminently practical and idealistically utopian: the federal government would foster an "ideal" self-sufficient cooperative community that would also ease the pressing housing shortage near the nation's capital. Construction of the new town would also create jobs and thus help stimulate the national economic recovery following the Great Depression. The two other Green belt Towns are Greendale, Wisconsin (near Milwaukee) and Greenhills, Ohio (near Cincinnati). A fourth town, Roosevelt, New Jersey (originally called Homestead), was planned but was not fully developed on the same large scale as Greenbelt. Much of the federalGovernment planned and developed portion of the city is located within the Greenbelt Historic District. African-Americans were initially excluded, but were later included by the Green belt Committee for Fair Housing founded in 1963, and came to account for 41% of residents, according to the 2000 census. The same census data also indicates thatAfrican-Americans are isolated in certain parts within the town, and the percentage of African-American within the historic area is between 0% and 5% on most blocks. Applicants for residency were interviewed and screened based on income and occupation, and willingness to become involved in community activities.

Demographics

In the 2010 census, there were 23,068 people, 9,747 households, and 5,367 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 30.1% White, 47.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 9.7% Asian, 0.1%. Pacific Islander, 8.6% from other races, and 3.3%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. The median income for a household in theCity was $46,328. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 12. 5% from 18 to 24, 39.1%) from 25 to 44, 19.8%. For every 100 females age 18 and over, There were 88.2 males. The city's population was 21,456 in the census of 2000. It is expected to reach 23,000 in the 2020 census. It has a population of 11,202. It's expected that the city will reach 20,000 by the end of the 2020 Census. It will be the largest U.S. city in terms of population and population density. It also has the highest percentage of Hispanics/Latinos in the country. The population is the highest in the United States of any city. It had the highest rate of Hispanic/Latino residents in the 2010 Census, with 14.4% of its population being Hispanic or Latinos. It was the second-largest city in the state.

Government

The City of Greenbelt operates under a council-manager government as established by the city charter. The Council consists of seven members elected by plurality-at-large voting. Elections are held every two years, in odd-numbered years, to diminish the influence of political parties. Political party affiliations are not an official part of the city election process and are seldom part of candidate campaigns. The council appoints a professional city manager responsible for supervising government operations and implementing the policies adopted by the council. In 2009, the city implemented several election reforms with the goal of increasing diversity: increasing the city council from five to seven members, adding another precinct in Greenbelt East to shorten voter lines, and amending the city Charter to allow early voting. In the election held November 3, 2009, Emmett Jordan, an African American, was chosen by 75% of voters, electing him to the Council as Mayor Pro Tem, the second-highest city official. The United States Department of the Interior's National Park Service manages and operates Greenbelt Park. The U.S. Postal Service operates Green belt Post Office Dr. Ora Glen Dr. Dr. Glen CDP, with a Bowie postal address. Greenbelt is one of three incorporated cities in Prince George's County with at-large elections for council and mayor (the others are District Heights and New Carrollton). The remaining seven use combinations of districts and at- large voting. The city is located in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Prince George’s County.

Greenbelt Historic District

The federally planned and constructed inner core of the city was designated as the Greenbelt Historic District by the Maryland Historical Trust on November 25, 1980. The historic district was elevated to National Historic Landmark District status on February 18, 1997. The district contains Roosevelt Center (originally named simply The Center, and later renamed in honor of President Roosevelt) and many buildings in the Art Deco style. Roosevelt Center contains the Green Belt Co-op Supermarket and Pharmacy, which opened in 1984, and the original, historic Old Greenbelt Theatre. The New Deal Cafe, with its name honoring the origins of its location, is also located in the district, in what was previously the city's bowling alley. Both the Co-Op and the New Deal cafe carry on a tradition from the city, as they operate as non-profit cooperative membership corporations. The Greenbelt Arts Center (located underneath the co-op), is located underneath the NewDeal Cafe, and also opened in 1998. The Arts Center was built in the same place as the old bowling alley, and was originally known as the "Greenbelt Bowling Alley" It is one of the oldest surviving bowling alleys in the United States, dating back to the early 1900s. It is located on the banks of the Potomac River, which was once part of the Maryland Turnpike, and is now known as "The Greenbelt Turnpikes" The turnpikes were originally built to connect the city with Maryland's Eastern Shore, and were completed in the 1920s.

Education

Greenbelt is served by Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) There are three public elementary schools serving sections of Greenbelt: Greenbelt Elementary School, Magnolia Elementary School and Springhill Lake Elementary School. There is a public magnet school within the City: Dora Kennedy French Immersion School (Greenbelt), which uses language immersion with instruction in the French language. There are no private schools in Greenbelt, but there is a Catholic school in nearby Lanham CDP, Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle. The Greenbelt Branch of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System is located in the City of Green belt. The county bought Center School for $260,000, after the federal government renovated it in July 1958. The original Greenbelt High School building (later used for Greenbelt Junior High, Greenbelt Middle, and currently DoraKennedy French Imm immersion School) opened in c.1937. The new Green belt Middle School opened on August 20, 2012. The County bought Green belt Junior High and North End Elementary. Roosevelt High was scheduled to open in fall 1976, and began serving students from Greenbelt. High Point High School, in Beltsville, opened in fall 1954. The former Greenbelt high School then became GreenbeltJunior High School. The current Eleanor Roosevelt High School opened in September 2008, and includes a Science and Technology magnet program and an AP Capstone program. It is the only high school in the city.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Greenbelt, Prince George's County, Maryland = 14.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 53. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Greenbelt = 4.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 24,921 individuals with a median age of 36.2 age the population grows by 0.10% in Greenbelt, Prince George's County, Maryland population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,996.95 residents per square mile of area (1,543.35/km²). There are average 2.28 people per household in the 9,407 households with an average household income of $58,434 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.40% of the available work force and has dropped -5.42% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 21.76%. The number of physicians in Greenbelt per 100,000 population = 141.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Greenbelt = 42.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 15 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 110. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 199. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 22.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 42, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Greenbelt, Prince George's County, Maryland which are owned by the occupant = 44.09%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 36 years with median home cost = $200,870 and home appreciation of -8.35%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.07 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,729 per student. There are 15.5 students for each teacher in the school, 904 students for each Librarian and 349 students for each Counselor. 4.88% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 24.54% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 20.56% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).