This essay is part of a series in which we’ve asked Alexandrians to envision our region in 2050.
Learn more about the series and read more essays on the Alexandria 2050 project page here.
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Mayor Justin Wilson
Mark Twain is purported to have asserted that “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
Any attempt to plot a course for Alexandria for the next three decades and beyond must involve a look back. Three decades ago, the City was mired in a devastating recession and transfixed by a war in the Middle East. We had a balanced economy where commercial activity funded over half of the costs of government and our school enrollment was just beginning a steep ascent.
Through nearly 272 years of existence, our City has evolved, reinvented itself and changed the face it presents to the rest of the world. Yet, it is our ties to our nation’s history, the diversity of our people, our small-town feel and our connection to the river that forms our eastern border that has defined our community for generations.
As the City implemented its vision for a accessible waterfront, full of public land and economic vitality, the archaeology showed us boats from centuries ago that connected us to a past remake of that precious space. A former rail-yard is now becoming the home of one of Virginia’s most prestigious institutions of higher education, a new transit station and a mixed-use community. A once state-of-the-art shopping mall will become a new modern hospital and prompt revitalization of the City’s West End. A heavy industrial corridor in the southwest corner of our City, will be remade to anchor economic growth for generations to come. A power-plant, burning coal for decades on our shoreline, will transition to more sustainable uses and bring people to the north end of Alexandria’s waterfront for the first time.
Yet, while the “look and feel” of our community will change, as it has throughout our history, it is our people that have shaped our quality of life. The sheer diversity of our population, by nearly any characteristic, is the essential ingredient of the Alexandria of the past and the one that will be here decades from now. Including ALL of our people as Alexandria grows, is a challenge that must be faced directly by those that will govern Alexandria over the decades to come.
As a locality a few miles from our nation’s capital, our economy and vitality has been frequently defined by where and how you can get from here. Like the boats from centuries ago, the rail connections for both people and cargo, the electric railway carrying residents to job centers across the Potomac and now the Metro, buses and boats bringing people throughout our region, our success is linked to moving our people. An Alexandria that can keep us moving will thrive.
Alexandria has been through many shocks and tragedies during our history. From the Civil War, to recessions, to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a community as old as ours has seen rough times before. Yet, an enduring characteristic of Alexandria is our uncanny ability to thrive in the aftermath of these challenging points in our history.
As Alexandria attempts to move beyond this global pandemic, which has devastated our economy and exacerbated existing inequalities, we are presented with the opportunity to seek advantage. In much the same way that Alexandria and our region benefitted from the anti-terror investments following 9/11, we have similar opportunities today. A City home to the National Science Foundation, the Patent and Trademark Office and now Virginia Tech is an ideal community to incubate the public health leadership, resiliency investments and planning that will help lead our region’s recovery.
Three decades from now, we can be the City that preserved what put us on the map, shared our prosperity with our community, grew an economy based on what tomorrow holds and maintained the best quality of life in the region. That’s the Alexandria we can be proud to bequeath to our children.
Justin Wilson is Mayor of the City of Alexandria.
