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LOL! Must've been before my time here! Didn't get the inside joke, sorry about that mate!
Yea it was a while back, sadly i forgot my old account, so i had to make a new one.. That thread was pure comical gold though, that is for sure. also it's all good
I don't have a ton of experience with Roanoke, but I'll note that the population of the City of Greensboro (277k) is almost that of the Roanoke metro area (308k) and close to three times the population of the City of Roanoke (97k).
Greensboro's metro area (including High Point) has a population of 723k, and the Piedmont Triad CSA (Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point) is 1.6 million.
So all of that is to say that there are a lot more people in the Greensboro area, which is obvious to you already, I'm sure. I just wanted to illustrate the scale of the difference.
Remember the Piedmont Triad CSA is a huge land area similar in land size to the 3 adjacent metros here: Blacksburg-Roanoke-Lynchburg. If the 3 metros were a CSA the population would approach 800k. The Roanoke airport is now named the Roanoke
Blacksburg Regional Airport. Roanoke-Blacksburg population is around 500k. I don't think anyone here wants this area to develop into a major urban enclave, which is not likely due to the mountainous terrain. I think Greensboro and Roanoke officials should work to strengthen ties economically and push to speed up construction of I73.
Remember the Piedmont Triad CSA is a huge land area similar in land size to the 3 adjacent metros here: Blacksburg-Roanoke-Lynchburg. If the 3 metros were a CSA the population would approach 800k. The Roanoke airport is now named the Roanoke
Blacksburg Regional Airport. Roanoke-Blacksburg population is around 500k. I don't think anyone here wants this area to develop into a major urban enclave, which is not likely due to the mountainous terrain. I think Greensboro and Roanoke officials should work to strengthen ties economically and push to speed up construction of I73.
Tough to compare populations of cities in VA and NC. VA has strict limitations on annexation, while NC cities seem to gobble up land from surrounding counties freely (Charlotte is a prime example). If Roanoke covered 131 sq mi like Greensboro does, it would be closer in population. Roanoke has its 97k people in 43 sq mi.
I think I-73 is a waste of money. Obviously, the state highway system has more pressing transportation needs and an ever dwindling supply of money to use, as well.
Tough to compare populations of cities in VA and NC. VA has strict limitations on annexation, while NC cities seem to gobble up land from surrounding counties freely (Charlotte is a prime example). If Roanoke covered 131 sq mi like Greensboro does, it would be closer in population. Roanoke has its 97k people in 43 sq mi.
Yes, the population densities of Roanoke and Greensboro are comparable (2300/sq mi for Roanoke, 2436/sq mi for Greensboro) but you can only get so much mileage out of the argument that the difference in population is due to annexation policies when the Greensboro metro area (narrowly defined, as it doesn't include the neighboring Winston-Salem metro) is twice the population of the Roanoke metro. Could geography not explain the relatively high density of Roanoke? A little town like Boone, NC has a comparable density because it's nestled in a valley, naturally impeding sprawl.
Yes, the population densities of Roanoke and Greensboro are comparable (2300/sq mi for Roanoke, 2436/sq mi for Greensboro) but you can only get so much mileage out of the argument that the difference in population is due to annexation policies when the Greensboro metro area (narrowly defined, as it doesn't include the neighboring Winston-Salem metro) is twice the population of the Roanoke metro. Could geography not explain the relatively high density of Roanoke? A little town like Boone, NC has a comparable density because it's nestled in a valley, naturally impeding sprawl.
No... If Virginia cities did annex, Roanoke could just annex the surrounding county. It isn't as landlocked as you suggest. I don't argue that Roanoke would be larger, but it certainly would change the game a bit. Actually, it doesn't matter, anyway... Not worth arguing about. I live in Lynchburg and fare much better than I would in G'boro.
Just curious but why did the Census Dept. take Winston Salem away from the Greensboro MSA, to give the region the status of a CSA? To me it suggests for years Greensboro and Winston-Salem weren't as connected as thought? I thought Greensboro High Point W-S were growing into one Big city such as Charlotte. The local Roanoke economic development officials are aware of Roanokes dilemna in MSA rankings. There is a new definition of Roanoke(forget the Census figures) called the Roanoke
Valley region which reflects our area as it regards population. Until the Census Dept changes their formula, none out there will ever be informed of the unique and strange feature of VA MSA most of all Roanoke. This topic has been a subject discussed for many years here. The MSA rankings, along with demographic profiles tell a prospective business about an area. When Roanoke is pulled up it says it is a city of 97k with a high crime rate, low personal income, education levels. Roanoke COUNTY,
Part of the urban core is invisible to the outside world with its urban pop of 120k. So tell me, is that fair if someone is trying to
Bring a new business here and promoting this MSA is a challenge? The mountainous terrain here precludes a major industry and the current thinking is promoting this area as a great place to live, a tourist destination and this strategy is working to draw people away from moving to the more congested areas such as NoVa or people who want to escape from those areas? It is interesting to see where the future technology is taking us.
Just curious but why did the Census Dept. take Winston Salem away from the Greensboro MSA, to give the region the status of a CSA? To me it suggests for years Greensboro and Winston-Salem weren't as connected as thought? I thought Greensboro High Point W-S were growing into one Big city such as Charlotte.
They split the Durham and the Raleigh CSAs in 2003, too. It has a lot to do with commuter patterns.
Charlotte has a single epicenter. The Triad will always have two or three, depending on your view of High Point. That's going to promote a growth pattern that has much more in common with Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill than it does with Charlotte.
They split the Durham and the Raleigh CSAs in 2003, too. It has a lot to do with commuter patterns.
Charlotte has a single epicenter. The Triad will always have two or three, depending on your view of High Point. That's going to promote a growth pattern that has much more in common with Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill than it does with Charlotte.
Which is a load of bull since the two cities have areas where their city limits touch one another and Research Triangle Park largely sits within Durham's city limits, meaning a vast number of commuters are in fact going from one to the other.
Which is a load of bull since the two cities have areas where their city limits touch one another and Research Triangle Park largely sits within Durham's city limits, meaning a vast number of commuters are in fact going from one to the other.
Frankly it feels pretty arbitrary with the WS/Gboro split, too, not so much because countless people commute from one to the other (though I do just that and the roads seem packed with people joining me on the commute), but because of the way the split handles shared suburbs like Kernersville. That's a town pretty evenly split in terms of commuters to the two cities. Then again, this is an issue that comes up repeatedly in more densely populated areas of the country (the NE for example), and I'd imagine there's some method to the census bureau's madness.
From downtown to downtown Greensboro and Winston-Salem are 28 miles apart. But because of Winston-Salem's growth eastward and Greensboro's growth westward, the two cities are only about 4 or 5 miles apart by city limits. Once you leave Greensboro, you are in Winston-Salem in hardly no time. Kernersville is becoming a suburb of High Point/Greensboro as much as it is of Winston-Salem. I think Kernersville has already annexed over into Guilford County. Greensboro and High Point are like one big city now. If it weren't for the signs, you wouldn't know when you left Greensboro and entered High Point (the two cities combined population is 377,000 btw). I dont think it made much sense to spit the Triad cities into two MSAs. However the three Triad cities are still in the same CMSA.
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ne out there will ever be informed of the unique and strange feature of VA MSA most of all Roanoke. This topic has been a subject discussed for many years here. The MSA rankings, along with demographic profiles tell a prospective business about an area. When Roanoke is pulled up it says it is a city of 97k with a high crime rate, low personal income, education levels. Roanoke COUNTY,
