D.C. is now adding more people than any other county in VA. What does it mean? (Reston: construction, schools)

[TransitAdvocate]

DC population grows more than any other local county - Greater Greater Washington

With the new population counts for the region out yesterday, I have been thinking about the shift taking place in the region with more people starting to move into the city instead of the suburbs in VA which have the ability to absorb so many more people. D.C. added more people this past year than any other county in Virginia or Maryland despite being a fraction of the size. That hasn't happened since before 1950.

DC is booming so that's not a surprise to anybody with cranes on every street corner in the city. It seems like a new tower is always rising in D.C. these days. Thinking about 10 years from now, will the attractiveness of living in the city affect growth potential in the Tyson's Corner and Reston redevelopment zones? It seems like it may be hard to get people to consider Tyson's Corner or Reston with everything going on in D.C.

I'm all for growth across the region, however, I really want Tyson's Corner to grow into a true urban downtown. It seems like there are thousands of projects going on in the city that I wonder what affect it will have on the demand to live in places in the suburbs Thoughts?

[NOVA_guy]

I was listening to WTOP a few months ago and I remember them saying DC is going to get so expensive within the next year or so that for the people who can't afford it they won't have a choice but to go to the MD/VA suburbs which will then push the prices up in the suburbs even more. Who knows for sure but it definitely seems people are trying to move closer to their jobs as much as possible.

[11KAP]

Tysons and Reston have a long way to go to Catch up with dc,
so they're really no competition. They're car cultures right now
and for them to turn urban would take years of rebuilding.

[Caladium]

The report says the number of actual people is higher for DC, but the growth rate is actually higher out in some of the burbs. Personally, I'd like to see the growth rate in Loudoun slow down. At 3.7 it takes the lead (DC's growth rate is 2.1). Let's slow it down and digest all the people who have already moved in over the last decade.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by NOVA_guy

it definitely seems people are trying to move closer to their jobs as much as possible.

That's one positive side to the traffic congestion--it discourages long commutes. I've long been a fan of living as close to work as possible for a number of reasons.

[Back to NE]

These are mostly 20-somethings coming to DC, wanting jobs, cool urban living and car-free lives. 20-somethings are easily the largest age demographic in DC now.

Of course some of them will marry, have kids and give it up to move to Tysons, Reston and the other commonplace suburbs.

[TransitAdvocate]

Originally Posted by Caladium

The report says the number of actual people is higher for DC, but the growth rate is actually higher out in some of the burbs. Personally, I'd like to see the growth rate in Loudoun slow down. At 3.7 it takes the lead (DC's growth rate is 2.1). Let's slow it down and digest all the people who have already moved in over the last decade.

Yeah, Loudoun county still has a higher growth rate because their population is so small. D.C. is not big though. I think it's only around 60 sq. mile's or so. D.C. will have 700,000 people very soon. I think what has alarmed me about D.C.'s population growth is how fast it's shifted. I remember when I first moved here in 1999, there wasn't much in D.C. outside of the National Mall and Georgetown. Now look at it.

I have seen many of the major projects being built in D.C. over the years so I knew it was only a matter of time before D.C. started having the same appeal cities like NYC and San Fran have for their region's. But D.C. is crazy!! I don't think I have ever seen this much construction in any city in my lifetime in a city D.C.'s size.

I just think we picked an awful time to start to develop Tyson's Corner. D.C. isn't even close to what it's going to be like in about 5-10 years. If we had done this 10 years ago, we would be in a way stronger position. I think the ship may have sailed. We can't compete with that monster across the Potomac.

If the population has already shifted, what will it mean when all the things under construction are finished in D.C. over the next 5-10 years? I just don't see how anything in VA or MD will be able to compete with D.C. going forward. It's starting to remind me of New York City now.

[TransitAdvocate]

Originally Posted by Back to NE

These are mostly 20-somethings coming to DC, wanting jobs, cool urban living and car-free lives. 20-somethings are easily the largest age demographic in DC now.

Of course some of them will marry, have kids and give it up to move to Tysons, Reston and the other commonplace suburbs.

That's what we're trying to attract to Tyson's Corner and Reston.

Nobody is choosing Tyson's over the D.C. that exists today. Maybe years ago, that could have been possible. Also, it's only a matter of time before the schools change in D.C. because the population in D.C. is changing. That's pretty much instant policy reform without any legislation.

[Caladium]

Why would we want to compete with DC? They're a city and we're the burbs, so we appeal to two different types of people. Both areas can be healthy and co-exist, just like Long Island is completely different from and yet co-existent with NYC.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by TransitAdvocate

Nobody is choosing Tyson's over the D.C. that exists today.

According to this article, the growth rate is strong in all the suburban areas of DC. So it looks like plenty of people are choosing Tyson's, just like plenty are also choosing DC.