First called Maryland Special Project No. 1, the project was officially named Greenbelt when the Division of Suburban Resettlement of the Resettlement Administration began construction, on January 13, 1936, about eight miles north of Washington.[7] The complete Greenbelt plans were reviewed at the White House by President Roosevelt and First LadyEleanor Roosevelt on April 30, 1936.[7] The first tenants, after selection in a stringent application process, moved in to the town on September 30, 1937.[7] The construction consisted of structures built in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Bauhausarchitectural styles.[7]
Greenbelt is credited as a historic milestone in urban development because it was the initial model for the privately constructed suburban Washington, D.C., planned cities of Reston, Virginia, and Columbia, Maryland.[7]
Greenbelt's population, which includes residents of privately built dwellings dating from after the end of the federal government's ownership of the city, was recorded as 23,068 at the 2010 U.S. Census and 24,921 at the 2020 census.[5]
Greenbelt is located at 38°59′41″N76°53′07″W / 38.99467°N 76.885399°W / 38.99467; -76.885399.[1][2] 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), of which 6.18 square miles (16,003,389 square meters) is land and 0.06 square miles (142,846 square meters) is water.[1][2] Greenbelt's ZIP Codes are 20770, 20771, and 20768. The ZIP Code 20770 contains all residential and business addresses that correspond to actual physical locations inside the geographic boundaries of the City of Greenbelt. The 20768 ZIP Code is assigned exclusively to post-office box (P.O. Box) addresses, while 20771 is the designated ZIP Code for Goddard Space Flight Center, situated on federal government owned land that is contiguous with a portion of Greenbelt's eastern border.[10][11]
Additionally, Greenbelt Road is part of state highway MD 193, which connects several suburban communities in both Prince George's and Montgomery counties. Kenilworth Avenue (MD 201) traverses Greenbelt in a north–south direction, running parallel to the B–W Parkway, providing an alternate travel route into Washington, D.C., from Greenbelt. The southernmost Maryland portion of Kenilworth Avenue forms a major interchange with both the B–W Parkway and US 50 near the Maryland–D.C. line, and continues into Washington, as the Kenilworth Avenue Freeway (DC 295).
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.[15][16][17] Through a city–university partnership between 2017 and 2019, Greenbelt residents were permitted to unlimited travel on Shuttle UM, with the purchase of a $10 annual pass.[18] The City operates limited transportation via the Greenbelt Connection, a 12-passenger wheelchair-accessible van.[19]
Greenbelt was settled on September 30, 1937, as a public cooperative community in the New Deal era.[7] 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.
Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, helped Tugwell lay out the Maryland town on a site that had formerly consisted largely of tobacco fields. She was also heavily involved in the first cooperative community designed by the federal government in the New Deal Era, Arthurdale, West Virginia, which sought to improve the lives of impoverished laborers by enabling them to create a self-sufficient, and relatively prosperous, cooperative community. Cooperatives in Greenbelt include the Greenbelt News Review, Greenbelt Consumers Coop grocery store, the New Deal Cafe, and the cooperative forming the downtown core of original housing, Greenbelt Homes Incorporated (GHI).[21]
The architectural planning of Greenbelt was innovative, as was the social engineering involved in this federal government project.[23] Applicants for residency were interviewed and screened based on income and occupation, and willingness to become involved in community activities.[24] African-Americans were initially excluded, but were later included by the Greenbelt Committee for Fair Housing founded in 1963, and came to account for 41% of residents, according to the 2000 census.[25][24][26] The same census data also indicates that African-Americans are isolated in certain parts within the town, and the percentage of African-Americans within the historic area is between 0% and 5% on most blocks.[27] Much of the federal government planned and developed portion of the city is located within the Greenbelt Historic District.
Greenbelt was the subject of the 1939 documentary film The City.
In 2021, the city created a reparations task force to study the issue of whether or not to award reparations to African-Americans in Greenbelt.
Greenbelt city, Maryland – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
During the census of 2010, there were 23,068 people, 9,747 households, and 5,367 families residing in the city.[31] The population density was 3,673.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,418.2/km2). There were 10,433 housing units at an average density of 1,661.3 per square mile (641.4/km2). 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% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.3% of the population.
There were 9,747 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% were married couples living together, 18.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.9% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.12.
The median age in the city was 33.7 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 34.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64, and 7.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.
2000 census
For the census of 2000, there were 21,456 people, 9,368 households, and 4,965 families residing in the city.[26] The population density was 3,586.6 people per square mile (1,385.3/km2). There were 10,180 housing units at an average density of 1,701.7 per square mile (657.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 39.7% White, 41.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 12.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population.
There were 11,202 households, out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.1% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.00.
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% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,328, and the median income for a family was $55,671. Males had a median income of $39,133 versus $35,885 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,236. About 6.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The City of Greenbelt operates under a council-manager government as established by the city charter, the first such arrangement in Maryland.[23] The Council consists of seven members elected by plurality-at-large voting. From their members, the Council selects the Mayor and the Mayor Pro Tem (who assumes the duties of the Mayor when the Mayor is unavailable). The Council has traditionally chosen the member with the highest vote count to be Mayor and the member with the second-highest vote count as Mayor Pro Tem. Elections are held every two years, in odd-numbered years, in part 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. Regular council meetings are held on Mondays, twice per month except during July, August, and December, when meetings are held once per month.[32]
The City Council is supported by 14 advisory boards and committees of citizen volunteers. The council appoints a professional city manager responsible for supervising government operations and implementing the policies adopted by the council.
The 2021 election selected the current city council:
Mayor: Emmett V. Jordan
Mayor Pro Tem: Kristen L. K. Weaver
Council Members: Danielle McKinney, Jennifer Pompi, Amy Knessel, Silke Pope, and Rodney Roberts[33]
Of the ten incorporated cities in Prince George's County, Greenbelt is one of three 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. On February 28, 2008, the Maryland American Civil Liberties Union and Prince George's County NAACP sent a letter to the Greenbelt City Council claiming that Greenbelt's at-large system may violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[35] According to the letter, the 2000 Census indicated that African-Americans constituted 38% of Greenbelt's voting-age population, Asians 13%, and Latinos 6%. At the time, however, all members of the city council were white. The letter proposed that the city switch to single-winner district-based voting, cumulative voting, or choice voting, and indicated a lawsuit would follow if no reform were implemented.[36] While the city population is racially diverse, only two African Americans had run for Council in the 30 years preceding the 2009 election, one of whom had withdrawn before the election.[37][38] In June 2008, the United States Department of Justice opened an investigation into the city's election system.[39]
In 2008, the city government hosted three public community meetings regarding election reform, in concert with the ACLU, NAACP, and FairVote.[40] Over 100 residents attended the forums, including one of the unsuccessful African American candidates, Jeanette
Gordy, who said, "My concern is that people don't get off their royal behinds. By going to meetings I got what I wanted and found out I had power as a citizen."[41]
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.[42]
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.[43][44] Voter turnout increased from 1,898 to 2,399 voters (a 26% increase in ballots cast) from 2007 to 2009.[45]
In the election held November 5, 2013, Emmett Jordan was chosen by 77% of voters, and receiving highest vote count was then elected Mayor by the council.[46][47]
Dora Kennedy French Immersion School (Greenbelt), which serves K through 8th grade students. The school uses language immersion with instruction in the French language.
There are no private schools within the City of Greenbelt. There is a Catholic school in nearby Lanham CDP, Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle.[62][63]
History of schools
The Lanham Act was used to build North End Elementary School.[64] The original Greenbelt High School building (later used for Greenbelt Junior High, Greenbelt Middle, and currently Dora Kennedy French Immersion School) opened in c. 1937.[65] Originally, the Federal Works Agency controlled North End Elementary School, Greenbelt High School, and the Center School. High Point High School, in Beltsville, opened in fall 1954, and began serving students from Greenbelt. The former Greenbelt High School then became Greenbelt Junior High School. The county bought Center School for $260,000, after the federal government renovated it in July 1958. The county also bought Greenbelt Junior High and North End Elementary.[64] Roosevelt High was scheduled to open in fall 1976.[66] The new Greenbelt Middle School opened on August 20, 2012.[65]
Note that data was taken from only employers who made information available, and the list does not include the US Federal Government (including NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center adjacent to Greenbelt).
In late 2023, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that FBI was consolidating offices in Greenbelt. It is a huge project, next to the Metro station, to serve 7,500 staff. Besides the FBI complex, substantial development around the Metro station is planned. It is 13 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of the District. Site selection has been a 10 year project. The state of Virginia has challenged the choice, putting the Inspector General to work reviewing the selection,[69] with no change to the GSA decision as of March 2024.[70]
^Larsen, Christian L.; Andrews, Richard D. (1951). "I: Origin and Growth". The Government of Greenbelt. Studies in Public Administration. College Park: Bureau of Public Administration, College of Business and Public Administration, University of Maryland. pp. 1–8. hdl:2027/uc1.b3526707. OCLC551390464.
^"143 GREENBELT"(PDF). College Park: University of Maryland Department of Transportation Services. 2018. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
^"UMD Shuttle Pass". City of Greenbelt. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
^"Elementary SchoolsArchived 2018-09-01 at the Wayback Machine." City of Greenbelt. Retrieved on September 1, 2018. "The Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle 9473 Annapolis Road Lanham, MD 20706 "
Christopher Silver. "Reviewed Work: Greenbelt, Maryland: A Living Legacy of the New Deal by Cathy D. Knepper". Journal of American History. 89 (4): 1578–1579. doi:10.2307/3092651. JSTOR3092651.
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