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108-574: In 2009, U.S. President Obama delivered a speech in Prague in which he called nuclear terrorism one of the greatest threats to international security. With that in mind, Obama hosted the first Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in Washington, D.C., in 2010, in order to draw attention, at the highest possible level, to the need to secure nuclear material and thus prevent nuclear terrorism. Forty-seven countries and three international organisations participated in

216-495: A cascading waterfall with Italian Renaissance -style architecture. Modern , Postmodern , contemporary , and other non-classical architectural styles are also seen in the city. The National Museum of African American History and Culture deeply contrasts the stone-based neoclassical buildings on the National Mall with a design that combines modern engineering with heavy inspiration from African art . The interior of

324-509: A referendum on D.C. statehood resulted in an 85% support among Washington, D.C., voters for it to become the nation's 51st state . In March 2017, the city's congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill for statehood. Reintroduced in 2019 and 2021 as the Washington, D.C., Admission Act , the U.S. House of Representatives passed it in April 2021. After not progressing in

432-532: A single municipality for the remaining portion of the district. There have been several unsuccessful efforts to make the district into a state since the 1880s; a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but was not adopted by the U.S. Senate . To become law it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by president; it would have renamed the city Washington, Douglas Commonwealth and shrunk

540-629: A 2000 agreement calling on each country to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium by burning it as fuel in nuclear reactors. Additionally, Russian President Medvedev confirmed plans to close a plutonium production reactor in Zheleznogorsk . A summit document also highlighted a comprehensive nuclear law passed in March by Egypt to strengthen nuclear security, and funding contributions by several countries to nuclear regulatory agencies and programs. The nuclear security summit generated

648-408: A garden-lined grand avenue about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 400 feet (120 m) wide in an area that is now the National Mall inspired by the grounds at Versailles and Tuileries Gardens. In March 1792, President Washington dismissed L'Enfant due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott , who worked with L'Enfant in surveying

756-428: A given aspect of security. The United States first implemented a policy of Gift Basket Diplomacy between the 2010 and 2012 Summits. 2010 Nuclear Security Summit The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was a summit held in Washington, D.C. , on April 12 and 13, 2010. The Summit focused on how to better safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to prevent nuclear terrorism . The New START treaty

864-697: A meaningful Security Council resolution today, seven months after the President said that the regime would face sanctions." U.S. President Barack Obama said in a news conference after the summit that China had sent official representatives to negotiations in New York to begin the process of drafting a sanctions resolution and that he had told the Chinese President that "words have to mean something, there have to be some consequences". Obama further said "the fact that we've got Russia and China, as well as

972-689: A means to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism. On April 5, 2009, in Prague , U.S. President Barack Obama had presented a three-part strategy to address the international nuclear threat . The strategy consisted 1.) proposing measures to reduce and eventually eliminate existing nuclear arsenals; 2.) strengthening the Non-proliferation Treaty and halting proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states; and 3.) preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons or materials. The President stated in his Prague speech that nuclear terrorism

1080-502: A modern glass exterior and heavy curvature. CityCenterDC is home to Palmer Alley, a pedestrian-only walkway, and houses several apartment buildings, restaurants, and luxury-brand storefronts with streamlined glass and metal facades. Outside Downtown D.C., architectural styles are more varied. Historic buildings are designed primarily in the Queen Anne , Châteauesque , Richardsonian Romanesque , Georgian Revival , Beaux-Arts , and

1188-431: A relatively high homelessness rate, despite its high living standard compared to many American cities. Washington, D.C., is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW) , Northeast (NE) , Southeast (SE) , and Southwest (SW) . The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol. All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location. House numbers generally correspond with

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1296-595: A snowstorm in January 1772. Hurricanes or their remnants occasionally impact the area in late summer and early fall. However, they usually are weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location. Flooding of the Potomac River , however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the Georgetown neighborhood of

1404-676: A special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core. What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included relandscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new citywide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design for the city. By law, the city's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Height of Buildings Act of 1910 prohibits buildings with height exceeding

1512-576: A step toward lowering the risk of a terrorist group getting an atomic weapon, but real progress depends on countries keeping the promises they made". Sam Nunn , a former U.S. senator who tutored Mr. Obama on nuclear proliferation issues said he believed "we are now closer to cooperation than catastrophe." Graham Allison, an expert on nuclear terrorism at Harvard University, made the case that if countries "lock down all nuclear weapons and bomb-usable material as securely as gold in Fort Knox, they can reduce

1620-633: A stream valley that bisects the city. Established in 1890, it is the country's fourth-oldest national park and is home to a variety of plant and animal species, including raccoon, deer, owls, and coyotes. Other National Park Service properties include the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park , the National Mall and Memorial Parks , Theodore Roosevelt Island , Columbia Island , Fort Dupont Park , Meridian Hill Park , Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens , and Anacostia Park . The District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation maintains

1728-478: A struggle with small victories in different parts of the world." Judson Berger of Fox News wrote that "the United States rapidly is becoming the hottest destination for unwanted nuclear fuel" which raises concerns about cost, since the U.S. devotes millions of dollars to converting the material. And it could raise questions about security, too. Louis Charbonneau of Reuters commented that the "summit took

1836-641: A two-day nuclear conference which was held a week after this summit, with the theme "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for None." At that conference, President Ahmadinejad took issue with the U.S.' establishment of a new policy that did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and North Korea, both of which have withdrawn from or violated the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and had UN Security Council Resolutions passed against them. Ahmadinejad further called for more rigorous action than that outlined by

1944-473: A variety of Victorian styles. Rowhouses are prominent in areas developed after the Civil War and typically follow Federal and late Victorian designs. Georgetown 's Old Stone House , built in 1765, is the oldest-standing building in the city. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University features a mix of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture . The Ronald Reagan Building is the largest building in

2052-580: A variety of reactions from media, organizations, and politicians among others. Charles Hanley, who has reported on nuclear arms control for three decades for the Associated Press , commented that "the world took a big step out of the age of MAD and into an even madder age, when a dark vision of random nuclear terror will shadow our days for decades or more to come." Jonathan Marcus from the BBC wrote that "the battle to safeguard nuclear materials will be

2160-487: Is a shared one and is not just a threat to the United States". They called on the U.S. to work for a global halt to the production of weapons-usable material, to discourage states from separating plutonium as part of their spent fuel reprocessing program, and for the "U.S. Congress to fully support programs aimed at enhancing nuclear security around the globe and combating illicit nuclear trafficking". International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano welcomed

2268-911: Is generally popular among tourists and locals. In 2007, six of the top ten buildings in the American Institute of Architects ' ranking of America's Favorite Architecture were in the city: the White House , Washington National Cathedral , the Jefferson Memorial , the United States Capitol , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial . The neoclassical , Georgian , Gothic , and Modern styles are reflected among these six structures and many other prominent edifices in

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2376-480: Is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city. Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of 79.8 °F (26.6 °C) and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. Heat indices regularly approach 100 °F (38 °C) at the height of summer. The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in

2484-452: Is known as a lobbying hub, with K Street as the industry center. The city had 20.7 million domestic visitors and 1.2 million international visitors, ranking seventh among U.S. cities as of 2022. The Algonquian -speaking Piscataway people , also known as the Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River and present-day Washington, D.C., when Europeans first arrived and colonized

2592-477: Is sea level at the Potomac River. The geographic center of Washington is near the intersection of 4th and L streets NW. The district has 7,464 acres (30.21 km ) of parkland, about 19% of the city's total area, the second-highest among high-density U.S. cities after Philadelphia . The city's sizable parkland was a factor in the city being ranked as third in the nation for park access and quality in

2700-466: Is the capital city and federal district of the United States . The city is on the Potomac River , across from Virginia , and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington , the first president of the United States . The district is named after Columbia , the female personification of the nation . The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for

2808-518: Is the most immediate and extreme threat to global security. He announced an international effort to secure vulnerable nuclear materials within four years, break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in transit, and use financial tools to disrupt illicit trade in nuclear materials. In the 2009 L'Aquila Summit held in Italy Obama formally announced his plan to host a Global Nuclear Security Summit in March 2010 for this purpose. The Summit

2916-499: The Anacostia River to the east. Washington, D.C.'s street grid was extended, where possible, throughout the district starting in 1888. Georgetown's streets were renamed in 1895. Some streets are particularly noteworthy, including Pennsylvania Avenue , which connects the White House to the Capitol; and K Street, which houses the offices of many lobbying groups. Constitution Avenue and Independence Avenue , located on

3024-558: The Chilean cooperation with the U.S. to secure and remove 40 pounds (18 kg) of highly enriched uranium in the midst of its earthquake recovery. Lugar also welcomed the announcement by Ukraine to relinquish its highly enriched uranium stockpile. “Combating nuclear terrorism requires that we take every step possible and I hope President Obama’s leadership brings new momentum to this vital mission," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said. For its part, Iran's envoy to

3132-646: The Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the district, freeing about 3,100 slaves in the district nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation . In 1868, Congress granted the district's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections. By 1870, the district's population had grown 75% in a decade to nearly 132,000 people, yet the city still lacked paved roads and basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving

3240-714: The Continental Congress and under the Articles of Confederation . New York City was the first capital upon the adoption of the Constitution , succeeded by Philadelphia , which was capital from 1790 to 1800. On October 6, 1783, after the capital was forced by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 to move to Princeton, Congress resolved to consider a new location for it. The following day, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts moved "that buildings for

3348-811: The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 , which officially organized the district and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. The area within the district was organized into two counties, the County of Washington to the east and north of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west and south. After the Act's passage, citizens in the district were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which ended their representation in Congress. On August 24, 1814, during

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3456-688: The National Mall , including the Jefferson Memorial , the Lincoln Memorial , and the Washington Monument . It hosts 177 foreign embassies and serves as the headquarters for the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund , the Organization of American States , and other international organizations. Home to many of the nation's largest industry associations, non-profit organizations, and think tanks , D.C.

3564-548: The Northeast megalopolis . As the seat of the U.S. federal government , the city is an important world political capital . The city hosts the buildings that house federal government headquarters, including the White House , the Capitol, the Supreme Court Building , and multiple federal departments and agencies . The city is home to many national monuments and museums , located most prominently on or around

3672-484: The Potomac River forms the district's border with Virginia and has two major tributaries, the Anacostia River and Rock Creek . Tiber Creek , a natural watercourse that once passed through the National Mall , was fully enclosed underground during the 1870s. The creek also formed a portion of the now-filled Washington City Canal , which allowed passage through the city to the Anacostia River from 1815 until

3780-428: The U.S. East Coast . The city has a total area of 68.34 square miles (177 km ), of which 61.05 square miles (158.1 km ) is land and 7.29 square miles (18.9 km ) (10.67%) is water. The district is bordered by Montgomery County, Maryland , to the northwest; Prince George's County, Maryland , to the east; Arlington County, Virginia , to the west; and Alexandria, Virginia , to the south. The south bank of

3888-637: The War of 1812 , British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force at Bladensburg . In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas , the British set fire to government buildings in the city, gutting the United States Capitol , the Treasury Building , and the White House in what became known as the burning of Washington . However, a storm forced

3996-623: The Washington Metro stations and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden are designed with strong influence from the 20th-century Brutalism movement. The Smithsonian Institution Building is built of Seneca red sandstone in the Norman Revival style. The Old Post Office building, located on Pennsylvania Avenue and completed in 1899, was the first building in the city to have a steel frame structure and

4104-529: The 1850s. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal starts in Georgetown and was used during the 19th century to bypass the Little Falls of the Potomac River, located at the northwest edge of the city at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line . The highest natural elevation in the district is 409 feet (125 m) above sea level at Fort Reno Park in upper northwest Washington, D.C. The lowest point

4212-482: The 2018 ParkScore ranking of the park systems of the nation's 100 most populous cities, according to Trust for Public Land , a non-profit organization. The National Park Service manages most of the 9,122 acres (36.92 km ) of city land owned by the U.S. government. Rock Creek Park is a 1,754-acre (7.10 km ) urban forest in Northwest Washington, which extends 9.3 miles (15.0 km) through

4320-504: The British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours. Most government buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was largely under construction at the time, would not be completed in its current form until 1868. In the 1830s, the district's southern territory of Alexandria declined economically, due in part to its neglect by Congress. Alexandria was a major market in the domestic slave trade and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in

4428-521: The District from its founding. The building of Washington likely relied in significant part on slave labor, and slave receipts have been found for the White House, Capitol Building, and establishment of Georgetown University. The city became an important slave market and a center of the nation's internal slave trade . After its survey, the new federal city was constructed on the north bank of

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4536-484: The District of Columbia. Shepherd authorized large projects that modernized the city but bankrupted its government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member board of commissioners. In 1888, the city's first motorized streetcars began service. Their introduction generated growth in areas of the district beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries, leading to an expansion of

4644-556: The Federal District to about the size of the national mall. Designed in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant , the city is divided into quadrants , which are centered around the Capitol Building and include 131 neighborhoods . As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 689,545. Commuters from the city's Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's daytime population to more than one million during

4752-460: The IAEA denounced the summit, to which it was not invited. The envoy said any action taken at the summit would not be legally binding and that the U.S. could not hold countries not invited to the summit to any thing the summit might agree to. He further argued it was Washington that was "the real threat to international security with its nuclear weapons." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned

4860-481: The IAEA has the resources it needs to make all of us more secure." Stephen Walt , a professor of international affairs at Harvard University writing for Foreign Policy , said he would give the summit "pretty high marks" for "a lot of useful pre-summit diplomacy" and for its acknowledgement that "the effort to promote greater nuclear security is primarily a political-diplomatic campaign, and one that will require sustained energy and attention". Walt wrote that it

4968-732: The Iran nuclear issue while reiterating China's adherence to a dual-track strategy. "We support the international nuclear non-proliferation system, maintain the peace and stability in the Middle East, oppose Iran having nuclear weapons and support a dual-track strategy," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said. On the second day of the Summit, President Obama announced that the next summit meeting about this subject will be in South Korea — see 2012 Nuclear Security Summit . Also on

5076-444: The Potomac River, to the east of Georgetown centered on Capitol Hill . On September 9, 1791, three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The same day, the federal district was named Columbia, a feminine form of Columbus , which was a poetic name for the United States commonly used at that time. Congress held its first session there on November 17, 1800. Congress passed

5184-462: The Residence Act, the exact location was to be selected by President George Washington , who signed the bill into law on July 16, 1790. Formed from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side and totaling 100 square miles (259 km ). Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory,

5292-470: The Senate, the statehood bill was introduced again in January 2023. The bill would have made D.C. into a state with one representative and two senators, with the name Washington, Douglas Commonwealth (thus keeping the same abbreviation Washington, D.C.). The legalities, reasons, and impact of statehood have been heavily debated in the 2020s. Washington, D.C., is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of

5400-1344: The Seoul Communiqué. The 2014 summit in March 2014 in The Hague , the Netherlands , charted the accomplishments of the past two years, identifying which of the objectives set out in the Washington Work Plan and the Seoul Communiqué have not been met and proposing ways to achieve them. The intention of the host country was to focus on the following achievable and visible goals: The fourth NSS took place in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2016. Leaders in attendance included British Prime Minister David Cameron , Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , French President François Hollande , Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi , Argentine President Mauricio Macri , Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto , Chinese Paramount leader Xi Jinping , Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev , Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , South Korean President Park Geun-hye , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Viet Nam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Russia informed Washington in mid-October it will not attend

5508-592: The Summit due to concerns that there would be demands for Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty . The United Kingdom was the only official nuclear weapons state (as recognised under the NPT ) not to be represented by its head of government . British Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not attend as the summit took place during the 2010 general election campaign in the UK. The summit

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5616-526: The Summit was the bilateral meeting between Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao of China held on April 12. During the ninety-minute meeting the two leaders discussed global economic rebalancing and Iran's nuclear program . China agreed to work with the United States at the United Nations on a resolution imposing further economic sanctions on Iran. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying sanctions and pressure cannot fundamentally resolve

5724-402: The Summit, Ukraine announced that it would give up its 90-kilogram (200 lb) stock of highly enriched uranium and convert its research reactors from highly enriched to low-enriched uranium. It intends to accomplish these goals by 2012. The topic of a nuclear fuel bank was briefly discussed by some members attending the conference. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev sought

5832-528: The Summit—was closed to traffic and parking. Thirteen Metrobus lines were rerouted and the Mount Vernon Square station was closed for the duration of the Summit. The Office of Personnel Management urged remote work or flextime by federal employees. On April 12, a bicyclist identified as 68-year-old Constance Holden was killed when she was struck by a National Guard truck. The truck

5940-911: The United States Constitution was ratified in 1961, granting the district three votes in the Electoral College for the election of president and vice president, but still not affording the city's residents representation in Congress. After the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, riots broke out in the city , primarily in the U ;Street, 14th Street, 7th Street, and H Street corridors, which were predominantly black residential and commercial areas. The riots raged for three days until more than 13,600 federal troops and Washington, D.C., Army National Guardsmen stopped

6048-583: The United States' backing to house a nuclear fuel bank while he was in Washington for the event and Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gillani issued a statement saying Pakistan would like to act as a provider and "participate in any non-discriminatory nuclear fuel cycle assurance mechanism". The UAE also reconfirmed its $ 10 million pledge to the IAEA Nuclear Fuel Bank and its policy of foregoing domestic enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing. The most widely anticipated meeting during

6156-476: The Washington Work Plan: the participants recognised the need to increase synergy between nuclear safety and security and better protect radiological sources from theft and misuse. Radiological sources may not be usable for a nuclear weapon, but they are well suited for making a ‘dirty bomb’, which can release radiation and cause social upheaval. The concrete results of the summit were presented in

6264-464: The above summit. Iranian supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated a religious edict he had issued earlier against the use of all nuclear weapons. The Summit was described by The Washington Post as having the greatest concentration of security in Washington since the inauguration of Barack Obama . An area of several city blocks surrounding the Walter E. Washington Convention Center —site of

6372-513: The already-implemented L'Enfant Plan , with the new McMillan Plan leading urban development in the city throughout the movement. Much of the old Victorian Mall was replaced with modern Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture ; these designs are still prevalent in the city's governmental buildings today. Increased federal spending under the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in

6480-504: The area. Blizzards affect Washington once every four to six years on average. The most violent storms, known as nor'easters , often impact large regions of the East Coast . From January 27 to 28, 1922 , the city officially received 28 inches (71 cm) of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885. According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and 36 inches (76 and 91 cm) from

6588-462: The award from Susan Eisenhower , the President of the international consultancy firm The Eisenhower Group. Certain countries involved in the NSS are interested in taking a specific security theme a step further. These countries are being given the opportunity to offer a ‘gift basket’, an extra initiative. The idea is for presenters of such gift baskets to acquire the backing of as many countries as possible, which will in turn function as role models for

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6696-464: The basis of the Washington Work Plan, which contained numerous measures and action points. In Seoul a number of additional action points were formulated and set down in the Seoul Communiqué. The NSS process was ongoing, and since 2009 has required world leaders and diplomats to devote extra attention to the issue of nuclear security. Extensive consultations were held in the run-up to every summit. For NSS 2014 this process started in 2012. The negotiators for

6804-503: The capital farther west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider the proposal. In the Organic Act of 1871 , Congress repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown , abolished Washington County , and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia. These steps made "the city of Washington...legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia." In 1873, President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd as Governor of

6912-432: The capital moved from Philadelphia . In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria , was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia , including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created

7020-414: The capital. In the Compromise of 1790 , Madison, Alexander Hamilton , and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States . On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act , which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River . Under

7128-494: The city's 900 acres (3.6 km ) of athletic fields and playgrounds, 40 swimming pools, and 68 recreation centers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates the 446-acre (1.80 km ) United States National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, D.C. Washington's climate is humid subtropical ( Köppen : Cfa ), or oceanic ( Trewartha : Do bordering Cf downtown). Winters are cool to cold with some snow of varying intensity, while summers are hot and humid. The district

7236-455: The city's classical-style architecture include buildings constructed in the French Second Empire style, including the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , and the modernist Watergate complex . The Thomas Jefferson Building , the main Library of Congress building, and the historic Willard Hotel are built in Beaux-Arts style , popular throughout the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Meridian Hill Park contains

7344-421: The city, was then tasked with completing its design. Though Ellicott revised the original L'Enfant plans, including changing some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the city's overall design. By the early 20th century, however, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital was marred by slums and randomly placed buildings in the city, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed

7452-530: The city. Many of the government buildings, monuments, and museums along the National Mall and surrounding areas are heavily inspired by classical Roman and Greek architecture. The designs of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court Building , Washington Monument , National Gallery of Art , Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial are all heavily drawn from these classical architectural movements and feature large pediments, domes, columns in classical order, and heavy stone walls. Notable exceptions to

7560-406: The city. Precipitation occurs throughout the year. The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930. The lowest recorded temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on February 11, 1899 , right before the Great Blizzard of 1899 . During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90 °F (32 °C) and 64 nights at or below

7668-408: The communiqué offered at the summit, U.S. Senate Republican Jon Kyl said that "the summit's purported accomplishment is a nonbinding communiqué that largely restates current policy, and makes no meaningful progress in dealing with nuclear terrorism threats or the ticking clock represented by Iran's nuclear weapons program." U.S. President Barack Obama said in a news conference after the summit that he

7776-420: The creation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress . As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any state , and is not one itself. The Residence Act , adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the 6th Congress held the first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800 after

7884-482: The district . Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to retake the land it had donated to form the district, a process known as retrocession . The Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846, to accept the return of Alexandria. On July 9, 1846, Congress went further, agreeing to return all territory that Virginia had ceded to the district during its formation. This left the district's area consisting only of

7992-497: The district over the next few decades. Georgetown's street grid and other administrative details were formally merged with those of the City of Washington in 1895. However, the city had poor housing and strained public works, leading it to become the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th century. The City Beautiful movement built heavily upon

8100-523: The district, though the chairman of the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, Ross A. Collins of Mississippi , justified cuts to funds for welfare and education for local residents by saying that "my constituents wouldn't stand for spending money on niggers." World War II led to an expansion of federal employees in the city; by 1950, the district's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents. The Twenty-third Amendment to

8208-474: The fall of the Soviet Union , the nuclear weapons existing within the former Soviet territory became a concern. There was a priority in disarming the remaining weapons, as well as reducing the number of development facilities and materials. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the possibility of terrorists misusing nuclear materials and facilities became a real threat, and nuclear security was highlighted as

8316-473: The federal level, politically disenfranchised since the city's residents do not have voting representation in Congress; the city's residents elect a single non-voting congressional delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The city's voters choose three presidential electors in accordance with the Twenty-third Amendment , passed in 1961. Washington, D.C. anchors the southern end of

8424-611: The first summit. In 2012 the second NSS was held in Seoul. Fifty-three countries and four international organisations were invited. The first summit was concerned with making political agreements, while the follow-up in Seoul focused on the progress made on implementing those agreements. The third NSS, in The Hague in 2014, centred on the results achieved and the future. Under the NSS process, countries worked to improve their nuclear security on

8532-684: The first to use electrical wiring in its design. Notable contemporary residential buildings, restaurants, shops, and office buildings in the city include the Wharf on the Southwest Waterfront , Navy Yard along the Anacostia River , and CityCenterDC in Downtown . The Wharf has seen the construction of several high-rise office and residential buildings overlooking the Potomac River . Additionally, restaurants, bars, and shops have been opened at street level. Many of these buildings have

8640-499: The foreign ministry said, adding that Russia would instead focus on its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency." Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled on the sidelines of NSS 2016 a policy framework to end the threat of nuclear war titled Manifesto: The World 21st Century. Turkey’s award was received by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak , who received

8748-404: The freezing mark (32 °F or 0 °C). On average, the first day with a minimum at or below freezing is November 18 and the last day is March 27. Washington, D.C., was a planned city , and many of the city's street grids were developed in that initial plan. In 1791, President George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L'Enfant , a French-born military engineer and artist, to design

8856-569: The goal of securing all nuclear weapons-usable material within four years. Stares asserted that "patient, incremental steps may not be very exciting, but they can still achieve a lot." Daryl Kimball , Executive Director of the Arms Control Association , and Peter Crail, a Nonproliferation Analyst at the Arms Control Association, said "the summit was also able to point out that this risk of nuclear terrorism

8964-493: The initiative of President Obama. The aim of the summit was to improve worldwide nuclear security by enhancing cooperation and to make concrete agreements aimed at better securing nuclear materials and facilities. The results of the summit were set down in the Washington Work Plan in the form of concrete plans and action points, and the Washington Communiqué, which contains commitments and declarations of intent from

9072-506: The likelihood of a nuclear 9/11 to nearly zero." Paul Stares, Director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations , wrote "some observers will doubtless pronounce the summit's outcome as modest and, in any case, pre-cooked" but argued that the participation of nations from the developing world was encouraging and that the summit injected important momentum toward

9180-469: The need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution permits the establishment of a "District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States". However, the constitution does not specify a location for

9288-496: The new capital. He enlisted the help of Isaac Roberdeau, Étienne Sulpice Hallet and Scottish surveyor Alexander Ralston to help lay out the city plan. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping. L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Thomas Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan. L'Enfant's design also envisioned

9396-552: The north and south sides of the National Mall, respectively, are home to many of Washington's iconic museums, including many Smithsonian Institution buildings and the National Archives Building . Washington hosts 177 foreign embassies ; these maintain nearly 300 buildings and more than 1,600 residential properties, many of which are on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row . The architecture of Washington, D.C., varies greatly and

9504-404: The number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states . The City of Washington was bordered on the north by Boundary Street (renamed Florida Avenue in 1890); Rock Creek to the west, and

9612-510: The other P5-plus-1 members having a serious discussion around a sanctions regime, following up on a serious sanctions regime that was passed when North Korea flouted its obligations towards the NPT, it's a sign of the degree to which international diplomacy is making it more possible for us to isolate those countries that are breaking their international obligations." U.S. Senator Richard Lugar met with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and praised

9720-459: The participating countries. The commitments made in Washington in 2010 are: Following the summit in Washington in 2010 six new countries (Azerbaijan, Denmark, Gabon, Hungary, Lithuania and Romania) and one new international organisation (Interpol) were invited by South Korea to join the NSS. Fifty-three countries attended the second summit in Seoul in 2012 , which built on the goals that had been identified in Washington. New ambitions were added to

9828-568: The port of Georgetown , founded in 1751, and the port city of Alexandria, Virginia , founded in 1749. In 1791 and 1792, a team led by Andrew Ellicott , including Ellicott's brothers Joseph and Benjamin and African American astronomer Benjamin Banneker , whose parents had been enslaved, surveyed the borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point; many of these stones are still standing. Both Maryland and Virginia were slave states , and slavery existed in

9936-538: The portion originally donated by Maryland. Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the district, although not slavery itself. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln signed

10044-538: The region in the early 17th century. The Nacotchtank , also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries , maintained settlements around the Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D.C. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately displaced the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland . Nine cities served as capitals to

10152-524: The second day of the Summit, Canada, Mexico, and the United States reached an agreement "that will help convert fuel at Mexico's nuclear research reactor to a lower grade of uranium unsuitable for nuclear weapons." The project, which will be overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency, will eliminate all highly enriched uranium in Mexico. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an update to

10260-540: The strong support expressed at the summit for the Agency's "essential role" in the field of nuclear security. "I am pleased that the IAEA’s efforts to make nuclear facilities and borders more secure to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism are recognized at the highest levels of government," he said. Amano further said he was "grateful to all those who have matched their words of support today with much needed pledges to ensure that

10368-411: The summit in the U.S. He called the meeting "humiliating to humanity. World summits being organised these days are intended to humiliate human beings. These foolish people who are in charge are like stupid, retarded people who brandish their swords whenever they face shortcomings, without realising that the time for this type of thing is over." Iran was not officially on the summit agenda. Iran organized

10476-418: The summit. Their Foreign Ministry stated, "We shared with our American colleagues our doubts regarding the added value of a forum that is planned to be held in the United States in 2016," "We believe it is unacceptable to create a precedent of such outside interference into the work of international organizations," and " Washington is trying to assume the role of the main and privileged 'player' in this field,"

10584-575: The use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton , or of the Potomac , near Georgetown , provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town". In Federalist No. 43 , published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety. The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 emphasized

10692-405: The various countries, known as sherpas and sous sherpas, discussed the progress made and conferred on key themes, work plans and measures. Ultimately, these negotiations lead to decisions, which were later affirmed at the summit and published in a communiqué. Forty-seven countries and three international organizations participated in the first Nuclear Security Summit , held in Washington in 2010 at

10800-442: The violence. Many stores and other buildings were burned, and rebuilding from the riots was not completed until the late 1990s. In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act providing for an elected mayor and 13-member council for the district. In 1975, Walter Washington became the district's first elected and first black mayor. Since the 1980s, the D.C. statehood movement has grown in prominence. In 2016,

10908-541: The width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1 m). Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument , which remains the district's tallest structure. City leaders have cited the height restriction as a primary reason that the district has limited affordable housing and its metro area has suburban sprawl and traffic problems. Washington, D.C., still has

11016-407: The workweek. The Washington metropolitan area , which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia , is the country's seventh-largest metropolitan area , with a 2023 population of 6.3 million residents. A locally elected mayor and 13-member council have governed the district since 1973, though Congress retains the power to overturn local laws. Washington, D.C., residents are, on

11124-407: Was "going to push as hard as I can to make sure that we get strong sanctions that have consequences for Iran as it's making calculations about its nuclear program and that those are done on a timely basis." The value of informal conversations and discussions is an important aspect of international conferences. Only some lead to directly to an announcement in the summit context. On the first day of

11232-448: Was a rare "policy problems that we actually do know how to address", that it was easier and cheaper to address than climate change, and that " there are hardly any counter-arguments against it". In response to the summit, U.S. Senate Republican Jon Kyl asserted that "the greatest threat of nuclear proliferation and terrorism comes from Iran" and that "despite the talk at the security summit, it appears we are no closer to tough sanctions or

11340-399: Was instead attended by Foreign Secretary David Miliband . Monday's schedule included the following events: Tuesday's schedule included the following events, many of which were isolated from the news media: A non-binding communiqué issued after the summit recognized nuclear terrorism as "one of the most challenging threats to international security" and saw parties: In response to

11448-600: Was moving into position to block the intersection of New York Avenue NW and 12th Street NW for a passing Summit-related motorcade . Holden was a journalist who had worked for the journal Science since 1970; she had just left work at the American Association for the Advancement of Science headquarters before being struck. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C. ,

11556-677: Was signed on April 8, 2010, in Prague by United States President Barack Obama and President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev . After this summit, Iran hosted its own conference, International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation , on April 17–18 (see below). Then in May 2010, the 2010 review conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was held at United Nations headquarters in New York . With

11664-779: Was the largest gathering of heads of state called by a United States president since the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization . Delegations from forty-seven governments including the United States attended, thirty-eight of which were represented by heads of state or government. Delegations from the European Union , the International Atomic Energy Agency , and the United Nations also attended. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his plans to attend

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