You ever feel like this whole city commutes in and out each day? Have you ever been the lone DC resident at your work, fighting for bicycle and bus benefits while everyone else wants more parking? Ever feel DC is empty on Sundays? Well, your perceptions are reality.
DC on Sunday
The 2000 US Census ranks DC as #1 in daytime population change due to commuting for any major city in America, with a whopping 72% change in working population each day. The 260,884 DC residents who worked in DC in 2000 were supplemented by 410,794 suburbanites commuting in for jobs, raising our overall population from 572,059 to 982,853 every day.
This daily flow is impressive to me, with a sea of headlights in the morning, rivers of taillights at night, and an odd calm in between both. Every so often, I dive into that flow and look around, thinking “so this is what a water molecule feels like in the Bay of Fundy. What does it feel like to you?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
