Signs of the times from Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads…
Scholars at the Brookings Institution see indications that the “galloping growth” of Washington’s Virginia suburbs is slowing. The Washington Post quotes William H. Frey, a demographer at Brookings:
“There’s still growth in the Washington region, and there’s still migration from the inside of the doughnut to the periphery. But it’s kind of slacking. From being a very fast-growing exurban place, Washington has now come down to more normal levels.”
Meanwhile, the Virginian-Pilot reports that, according to newly released Bureau of Census estimates, Norfolk and Virginia Beach are actually losing population.
According to the new estimates, Virginia Beach, the regon’s most populous jurisdiction, lost 1,402 residents in 2006. Its population now stands at 435,619. Norfolk lost about 1,663 residents in 2006. Its population stands at 229,112. The Weldon Cooper Center, which tracks Virginia’s population, believes that Norfolk and Virginia Beach actually gained a small number of inhabitants last year.
What seems indisputable is that growth in Hampton Roads appears to be shifting to the metropolitan periphery. Chesapeake has gained 21,000 residents since 2000, while Suffolk has gained 17,000. The Pilot’s article does not indicate whether that represents a continuation or a slowdown for the metropolitan area as a whole.
