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The entire USA population has increased by 40% since 1980, that is over the past 35 yrs. Unless your community was growing it was becoming depressed. So it has been inevitable that the average or better areas would probably double population during that time. That is a big change in 35 yrs.
Part of what this area had going for it in the 80's was the people, of course. But even depressed areas have nice people. The other thing our area had going for it was location. Being in a zone of moderate climate is not something any of us can say we contributed to. Being near the I-95 corridor has not hurt either, nor has being close to one of the coasts, and again that is just good fortune.
The part to be proud of is the way the area has welcomed change, has welcomed innovation, and has planned for the future while emphasizing the values of good people everywhere. I wish the planning for future growth could have involved a little more tasteful use of the land, but it would have been difficult for anyone to know how much growth was coming and to also be in the position to have aesthetic oversight. But all things considered, for an area with 40% or so growth in just 10 yrs, the outcome has not been too bad. So far anyway.
Raleigh was one of the last state capitols to get a direct interstate connection. It was more comparable to Greensboro and Winston in the 1970s than Charlotte.
Raleigh was one of the last state capitols to get a direct interstate connection. It was more comparable to Greensboro and Winston in the 1970s than Charlotte.
Greensboro was bigger than Raleigh until the 1980's, and you can see that a little if you're familiar with the two cities. Greensboro has less new suburban sprawl, their suburbs seem a little older. Go out to areas like Summerfield and it's becoming more like North Raleigh, lots of newer sprawl particularly spreading northwest of Greensboro along 220. In some ways, I guess Greensboro/Winston-Salem is less "New South" as opposed to Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte.
Greensboro was bigger than Raleigh until the 1980's, and you can see that a little if you're familiar with the two cities. Greensboro has less new suburban sprawl, their suburbs seem a little older. Go out to areas like Summerfield and it's becoming more like North Raleigh, lots of newer sprawl particularly spreading northwest of Greensboro along 220. In some ways, I guess Greensboro/Winston-Salem is less "New South" as opposed to Raleigh/Durham or Charlotte.
All of Wake County barely topped 300,000 in total population in 1980. Consider that in the 2000's decade alone that Wake County nearly added that many people and it's not hard to imagine a much different place just thirty years earlier.
In 1950, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Durham were all larger than Raleigh.
In 1970, Greensboro and Winston-Salem were larger than Raleigh.
In 1980, Greensboro was larger than Raleigh.
The counties followed a similar pattern though Wake has always been more populated than Durham County.
Raleigh was probably one of the smallest state capitals in the entire nation for a good period of time. Honestly, with the exception of being the state capital and holding NCSU, there wasn't much in Raleigh. We weren't a tobacco town like Durham or a textiles city like Charlotte.
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