You know Smart Growth—the philosophy of building “compact, transit-

oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including mixed-use development”—is getting popular when a business district’s annual report bears the title “We Are Smart Growth”.

That business district is Barracks Row, a street of shops along 8th Street SE in Washington near the Eastern Market station. Stefanie and I took the subway out to Eastern Market to check out the District’s largest farmers’ market and found a vibrant, mixed-use (and rapidly gentrifying) neighborhood full of interesting shops and really cute townhouses.

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Tagged: capitol hill, dc, development, photography, photos, smart growth

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.