(Source: Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
http://www.hrpdc.org/transport/presentations/congestion_management_web_version_files/frame.htm)
The communities on the Peninsula and south of Hampton Roads urbanized rapidly after World War II:
| Population Levels | 1940 | 1960 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth City County | 32,283 | ||
| Hampton | 5,898 | ||
| Elizabeth City County/Hampton combined | 38,181 | 89,258 | 146,437 |
| Newport News | 37,067 | ||
| Warwick | 9,248 | ||
| Newport News/Warwick combined | 46,315 | 113,662 | 180,150 |
The Peninsula (north of the James River) and the region south of the James River both grew rapidly, and the two halves of the Hampton Roads region engage in both competition for attracting businesses and cooperation in providing urban infrastructure for drinking water, solid waste disposal, transportation, etc. Between 1992-97, the growth rate on the Peninsula exceeded that in "Southside" below the James River/Chesapeake Bay (VMT="Vehicle Miles Traveled," a measure of transportation activity):
You'd expect, in a representative democracy, that changes in population would result in changes in political representation. The different jurisdictions in southeastern Virginia have shifted political boundaries as population changed the priorities in the different communities. Some counties incorporated as new cities, or merged into existing cities. There's a reason why the political map of southeastern Virginia changed so dramatically between 1950 and 1975.
Until recently, cities were authorized to annex urbanizing areas from counties, and the General Assembly delegated considerably more local authority to cities than to counties. The assumption was that more-concentrated urban development (housing subdivisions and commercial/retail shopping districts) required water and sewer systems that cities could provide, while counties would remain rural. As new development occurred on the edges of cities, the cities would expand their boundaries and provide an increased level of services - along with increased taxes to finance the expanding infrastructure required by expanding cities.
NOTE: The distinction between counties and independent cities is not unique to Virginia, but it's rare outside the state. To make it even more confusing, the names of three counties - James City County, Charles City County, and Elizabeth City County - included the word "city."
The political leaders of southeastern Virginia counties were unwilling to allow the cities, such as Hampton and Norfolk, to incorporate the high-value sections of the counties into the cities. Areas annexed into the city would no longer pay taxes to the county or vote for county officials. Counties were unable to block annexations, so they were were doomed to offer a low level of services. Whenever a section of the county became high-value (perhaps after a manufacturing plant located there or a shopping district developed) and generated a large amount of taxes, that land became attractive to the adjacent city. Cities consciously sought to annex high-value acreage with few residents, leaving the counties with a reduced tax base to generate the taxes for services to the remaining citizens.
After World War Two, in southeast Virginia the counties incorporated and merged with adjacent cities in a confusing pattern, designed in part to keep Norfolk from absorbing them into a metropolis with more interest in the urban core than the suburban and rural fringe. In 1952, Elizabeth City County merged into the City of Hampton. Warwick County became the City of Warwick in 1952. Cities were immune from hostile annexations, so Warwick was able to protect itself from Newport News expanding for six years until, in 1958, the City of Warwick was merged into the City of Newport News. In 1975, Poquoson (near Langley Air Force Base) became an independent city, before the General Assembly revised the law making it much harder to create new cities.
Princess Anne County merged with the City of Virginia Beach in 1963. That same year, the city of South Norfolk and Norfolk County consolidated to form the City of Chesapeake. In 1972, Suffolk County obtained a city charter from the General Assembly and converted itself into the City of Nansemond. The City of Nansemond was able to protect itself from the City of Suffolk expanding until, in 1974, the two cities merged.
 Metropolitan Statistical Areas of Virginia, as defined in 1999 by MSA boundaries established by the Federal government1 |
 1999 MSA boundaries of the Hampton Roads region |
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) are defined by the Federal government to show where there are social and economic connections between urban cores and outlying, integrated areas. MSA's include a population nucleus and adjacent communities with a high degree of integration with that nucleus. The Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC MSA was one of eight Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's) defined in the 1990's that included at least some portion of Virginia. (After the 2000 Census, new MSA boundaries were established.)
The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (PDC) was formed when the separate Southeastern Virginia Planning District Commission and the Peninsula Planning District Commission merged in 1990. The jurisdictions in the region also join in common "business marketing" efforts, especially through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. However, the communities on the Peninsula maintained a separate Peninsula Alliance for Economic Development until 2005, when it merged into the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance.
Why are some jurisdictions in southeastern Virginia classified within the boundaries of the MSA, but not members of the PDC?
Members of the Hampton Roads PDC pay dues to that organization, so membership in a particular PDC is optional. The Federal government's classification of a county as a member of a MSA does not require county supervisors/city councils to pay any dues.
The PDC recruits jurisdictions with common interests. As the Hampton Roads urban area grows north and west, additional jurisdictions decide they share the social and economic interests of Norfolk, Hampton, etc. However, membership in the Hampton Roads PDC does not result in the members with relatively small populations getting an equal vote on all regional bodies. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) does not include the western jurisdictions that are members of the Hampton Roads PDC; the urbanized areas have kept greater control over the transportation funding. The MPO does long-range planning to justify Federal funding for major transportation projects. Those western communities are less interested in urban transportation projects, such as a light-rail system to connect Norfolk with the oceanfront resort district in Virginia Beach.
The MSA boundaries grew in the Federal classifications after the 2000 Census. Note that the Eastern Shore communities are still not part of the MSA. Would you expect them to be members of the PDC, the MPO, or the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, if they don't belong to the MSA? (Whew... got a handle on the alphabet soup yet?)
The separate jurisdictions within the Hampton Roads metropolitan area have concluded that they need to coordinate through quasi-government institutions in some areas, especially for dealing with drinking water, waste water treatment, solid waste management, and transportation infrastructure. However, jurisdictions also maintain separate identities and compete with each other.
Counties and cities have different City Councils and Boards of Supervisors. In many cases they maintain different police forces, school systems, and other government services. Competition is especially obvious for recruiting businesses to locate in one community or the other. Businesses provide jobs for local residents (malking local voters happier). Also, businesses pay more in taxes than they require in city/county services (businesses do not send children to schools, in particular). With few exceptions, taxes are paid to a county or city, not to a region, so recruiting a business to one community can make life much easier for elected officials.
In the web of local and regional organizations, the Chambers of Commerce may remain independent, rival units even after local governments try to "partner" in planning district commissions. However, chambers may merge as a region's business interests grow and become more integrated.
(Merger of business-oriented institutions are excellent guides to the economic integration within an area. In western Virginia, the separate Chambers of Commerce in Montgomery County once again refused to merge in 2001. A significant percentage in the Christiansburg-oriented chamber feared being "swallowed up" by the separate, Blacksburg-oriented chamber. Those members voting against union expect to maintain a greater focus on business concerns in their local area by maintaining independence, rather than forming a regional chamber to spur economic growth throughout Montgomery County...)
