Prince of Petworth puts words to something I’d been thinking for a while: There’s a point at which enough commercial establishments gather in one place that they can realistically be called a “district,” or a loosely-defined area where you might go when you’re looking for a certain thing, rather than a specific address. It seems like an advantage for businesses to cluster this way, since they can then market themselves as a group, rather than isolated entities (the problem with the D.C. Arts District isn’t the district concept, but rather huge and nebulous area it’s trying to claim rather artificially). I put together a map of the areas I think could justify the term “district,” either currently or with a little more development. (Some are more dubious, and desirable, than others).
UPDATE, 6:50 p.m. – The map has been tweaked to reflect the actual location of things.