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Because it's true. City-to-city they're peers. Norfolk just has the fortune of being located next to 6 other cities, so it inherited a metro that it didn't have to grow. How, if you haven't been to Corpus, just say so, because they are very clearly peers.
Because it's true. City-to-city they're peers. Norfolk just has the fortune of being located next to 6 other cities, so it inherited a metro that it didn't have to grow. How, if you haven't been to Corpus, just say so, because they are very clearly peers.
You have it backwards. Norfolk didn't inherit a metro, it gave birth to one. The other cities exist because of Norfolk. Most of them were suburban/rural counties that incorporated themselves so that Norfolk and the smaller city of Portsmouth wouldn't annex them. In the 1950s, Norfolk was by far the largest city in the area (population around 300,000), Portsmouth was next with around 80,000, and all the others were under 50,000 or didn't exist yet. The other cities merged with or formed from counties in the mid-late 20th century and benefitted from white flight and the suburban boom of the time. Norfolk (and white flight from Norfolk) did "grow" the metro. What makes Hampton Roads unique is that the suburbs formed city governments covering huge swaths of geography, thus making the suburbs "peers" of the central city. I don't know of another metro where that happened.
You have it backwards. Norfolk didn't inherit a metro, it gave birth to one. The other cities exist because of Norfolk. Most of them were suburban/rural counties that incorporated themselves so that Norfolk and the smaller city of Portsmouth wouldn't annex them. In the 1950s, Norfolk was by far the largest city in the area (population around 300,000), Portsmouth was next with around 80,000, and all the others were under 50,000 or didn't exist yet. The other cities merged with or formed from counties in the mid-late 20th century and benefitted from white flight and the suburban boom of the time. Norfolk (and white flight from Norfolk) did "grow" the metro. What makes Hampton Roads unique is that the suburbs formed city governments covering huge swaths of geography, thus making the suburbs "peers" of the central city. I don't know of another metro where that happened.
Great post! You are correct about everything. Norfolk was the principal city in the area until the 1950's and 1960's. White flight and opposition against integration are what led to the formation of Virginia Beach, and Chesapeake.
You have it backwards. Norfolk didn't inherit a metro, it gave birth to one. The other cities exist because of Norfolk. Most of them were suburban/rural counties that incorporated themselves so that Norfolk and the smaller city of Portsmouth wouldn't annex them. In the 1950s, Norfolk was by far the largest city in the area (population around 300,000), Portsmouth was next with around 80,000, and all the others were under 50,000 or didn't exist yet. The other cities merged with or formed from counties in the mid-late 20th century and benefitted from white flight and the suburban boom of the time. Norfolk (and white flight from Norfolk) did "grow" the metro. What makes Hampton Roads unique is that the suburbs formed city governments covering huge swaths of geography, thus making the suburbs "peers" of the central city. I don't know of another metro where that happened.
The cities may not have been incorporated, but they grew out of the many, many military bases in the region, not as suburbs of Norfolk.
The cities may not have been incorporated, but they grew out of the many, many military bases in the region, not as suburbs of Norfolk.
You are discounting the positive effect Norfolk's location and infrastructure has had in the overall development of the region as a whole. Without Norfolk the region wouldn't be what it is today and not vice versa.
You are discounting the positive effect Norfolk's location and infrastructure has had in the overall development of the region as a whole. Without Norfolk the region wouldn't be what it is today and not vice versa.
I think you were discounting the impact of the region's sixteen (16) military installations. To attribute the growth of that metro to the city of Norfolk, and not those bases, is ridiculous.
You have it backwards. Norfolk didn't inherit a metro, it gave birth to one. The other cities exist because of Norfolk. Most of them were suburban/rural counties that incorporated themselves so that Norfolk and the smaller city of Portsmouth wouldn't annex them. In the 1950s, Norfolk was by far the largest city in the area (population around 300,000), Portsmouth was next with around 80,000, and all the others were under 50,000 or didn't exist yet. The other cities merged with or formed from counties in the mid-late 20th century and benefitted from white flight and the suburban boom of the time. Norfolk (and white flight from Norfolk) did "grow" the metro. What makes Hampton Roads unique is that the suburbs formed city governments covering huge swaths of geography, thus making the suburbs "peers" of the central city. I don't know of another metro where that happened.
Finally! Someone on C-D that knows what they're talking about when it comes to HR As far as the military installations, this goes hand in hand. All that says is that there were multiple catalysts for the population growth in this area. The real question is why didn't those other cities have a similar population to Norfolk at the time that Norfolk experienced a population that those other areas did not experience until the nineties, early 2000s. White flight and incorporation have a lot to do with that.
There are other metros where this happened though. NYC was only Manhattan until Brooklyn merged with it, very early on. The other counties were farmland until those areas merged with the city. That is a big part of the reason why the tallest structures are in Brooklyn and Manhattan. It is not likely that will ever change. But those other boroughs are slowly increasing density.
Norfolk is in a similar position that NYC was in back in the seventies. Hopefully it can turn things around. It is doubtful that Norfolk's population will ever catch up with Virginia Beach. A merger with Portsmouth is about the only way that could happen, unless (Norfolk) is aggressive in transforming the neighborhoods into a sea of mid-rise apartments/condominiums. Personally, it feels as though Norfolk took their status for granted and took a back seat while the area was transforming around it. Such is human nature. Now the city realizes that it needs to get serious about growth, because it could easily turn into another Cleveland or Detroit if it does not stop hemorrhaging residents. Not quite as bad of shape as Portsmouth and Newport News but that inertia is unsustainable. One thing is for sure, the poor are NOT getting pushed out of Norfolk. The city needs them; take the poor out of Norfolk and the population drops down to around 100,000. Perhaps we'll see a slow transition over several decades, due to gentrification and other forces. But not anytime soon.
As much as people hate it, Town Center was the real turning point in Virginia Beach. That made high-rises acceptable in the city (outside of the Oceanfront). People are no longer adverse to living in high-rises further into the city. The only thing Virginia Beach needs to do is increase density here and there. And there are plenty of mid-rise apartments/condominiums being built throughout Virginia Beach that Norfolk may never catch up.
Last edited by goofy328; 05-21-2016 at 07:47 AM..
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As far as the military installations, this goes hand in hand. All that says is that there were multiple catalysts for the population growth in this area. The real question is why didn't those other cities have a similar population to Norfolk at the time that Norfolk experienced a population that those other areas did not experience until the nineties, early 2000s. White flight and incorporation have a lot to do with that. 
