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the National Institutes of Health and the Naval Hospital in
Bethesda, Md.; the Central Intelligence Agency in McLean, Va.;
and the Bureau of the Census in Suitland, Md.
Two of the most famous new towns in the United States-
Columbia, Md., and Reston, Va. – are near Washington. Begun
during the early 1960's, these two communities were carefully
planned before they were built.
About 66 per cent of Washington's people are blacks. Among
major United States cities, only Detroit has a larger percentage of
black people. Whites make up about 30 per cent of the city's
population. The other 4 percent includes small groups of American
Indians and Asians.
About 41, 000 people who live in Washington are citizens of
countries other than the United States. Many of these people work
for foreign embassies or for international organizations in the city.
The foreign population includes people from almost every country
and gives the city’s a cosmopolitan (international) flavor.
Ethnic groups. Black people make up Washington's largest
group. About 400,000 blacks live in the city.
Thousands of Washington's blacks live in neighborhoods that
are made up almost entirely of people of their own race. The
neighborhoods range from poor, to middle-income, to upper-
income ones. In addition, many black Washingtonians live in
middle- and upper income racially integrated areas, both in the city
and the suburbs.
About 180,000 white people live in Washington. In many
cities, large numbers of whites of the same ethnic group - such as
people of Irish, Italian, or Polish ancestry - live in the same
neighborhoods. However, most of Washington's predominantly
white neighborhoods are made up of people of many ethnic back-
grounds.
Since the mid-1970's, many refugees from countries torn by
war and political turmoil have settled in Washington and its
suburbs. They include many people of Southeast Asian and
Hispanic origins. Many of these people of the same ethnic group
live close together.
They have opened restaurants, shops, and other businesses in
their neighborhoods.
Housing. About half of Washington's people live in one- or
two-family houses, and about half live in apartment buildings.