Online Encyclopedia
Reston, Virginia
Reston is an unincorporated "planned city" and census-designated place located in western Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 56,407.
A strain of Ebola, called Ebola Reston was named after the community, after monkeys imported from the Philippines that were in the community were found to have the virus.
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History
Reston was conceived as a planned city by Robert E. Simon . Founded on April 17th 1964, Simon's 50th birthday, and named for his initials, it embodied the use of higher density housing to conserve open space, mixed use areas for industry, business, recreation, education and housing. The first section of the community, Lake Anne Plaza 1964, emulated a European village on a lake. This careful planning gives Reston large swathes of wooded areas, streams (called runs in Virginia) but no meadows, because Reston was built in wooded areas of oak, maple, sycamore and Virginia pine.
Transportation
Reston is a 15 minute drive from Dulles International Airport. The Washington Metro line does not yet extend to Dulles, although this is planned; the funding for the first half of the line is in both of the upcoming US House of Representatives and the US Senate transportation bills. A bus line to the metro serves 10,000 people per week.
The Reston-Herndon stop at the West Falls Church metro stop has a U exclusively for bus drop-off to the cities and Dulles Airport. From the metro, all the other areas of Washington DC are accessible without the use of automobiles, a concept which is quite rare in the United States.
The Reston Internal Bus System (RIBS) circulates within the community; 4 routes serve it from early morning until midnight.
Geography
Reston is located at 38°57'16" North, 77°20'47" West (38.954577, -77.346357)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 45.0 km² (17.4 mi²). 44.4 km² (17.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.21% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 56,407 people, 23,320 households, and 14,481 families residing in the commnity. The population density is 1,269.9/km² (3,288.6/mi²). There are 24,210 housing units at an average density of 545.0/km² (1,411.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the community is 73.62% White, 9.12% African American, 0.25% Native American, 9.62% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.12% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. 10.10% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 23,320 households out of which 29.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% are married couples living together, 8.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% are non-families. 29.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 2.99.
The population is spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 36.3% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the community is $80,018, and the median income for a family is $94,061. Males have a median income of $70,192 versus $45,885 for females. The per capita income for the community is $42,747. 4.5% of the population and 3.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 6.1% are under the age of 18 and 7.0% are 65 or older. A portion of the housing is set aside for low-income housing.
External Links
- Reston Association — The official association website.
Reference
Washington Post, Sunday April 18, 2004, p C6.