Why dosen't growth in NC mountains show up in Population stats (Charlotte: subdivision, living)

[carolinadreamin']

I've lived in NC for over 40 years and have never noticed much growth,development, in the mountains, including around the Asheville area.
All the population stats for NC show just about all the growth for NC in the Triangle, and Charlotte areas with marginal growth around Wilmington. Are people in the mountains just not use to growth and it scares them or what?
Here's a site describing NC's growth in detail.

Population Change

[roanoker 4]

I have always wondered who is in charge at the Census Bureau who actually
decides what a MSA or CSA is. For example, in VA the cities are independent of counties so the population statistics for Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas are not even listed for ANY VA City! The Richmond-Norfolk area is a fast growing area similar to Charlotte-Greensboro. The only problem is that it doesn't even exist according to their formula! The Roanoke area is in a mountainous area but it is still tied into a much larger area with Lynchburg and Blacksburg. This area has a population of close to 1 million but again it doesn't even exist!! NC is fortunate in the Census Bureaus' attention because NC cities are not independent of their counties and they can annex county land. This in turn causes businesses to locate there and in turn brings more people to those metro areas. Population statistics can be interpreted in many different ways!!

[cooperwx]

It's clear that areas along I-85 are growing faster than the mountainous areas of NC. But the growth here seems to be a bigger deal for three main reasons:

1) We can all see it happening. The mountainsides and viewscapes are changing annually. Many folks love it here for the beauty of the mountains all around us. To have them change from pristine beauty is discouraging to some and provokes anger in others. In the Piedmont, it's hard to notice a new 500-home subdivision except by the new street coming off the main road.

2) Traffic problems are amplified. The topography of our region means that often roads either cannot be widened, or the costs of widening are very high. More vehicles on unchanged, often windy, steep, roads creates the feeling that the area is growing too fast.

3) WNC towns are smaller. People in Charlotte, the Triangle and the Triad accept that they live in big metro areas. They are accustomed to and mentally prepared for city living. Up here that's just not the case. Seeing towns like Brevard go from 8000 people to 15000 is a big difference, maybe more than seeing Concord go from 30000 to 50000.

There's a different mentality formed by all of this. It shows in the Charlotte-Raleigh "rivalry," with each city trying to be bigger and better than the other. Charlotte once aspired to compete with Atlanta, but now Charlotteans have realized that being like Atlanta might not be a good thing. Raleigh folks are often told that their downtown doesn't hold a candle to Charlotte's, and they resent that.

Up here people don't see much good in the growth that's taking place, thus there's more resistance.