RichmondLiberty.org

by Robert Russo

The current Richmond City Council under the leadership of Mayor Wilder seems relatively tame compared to the televised feuds of 2001 between Mayor McCollum and council members Trammell, Hedgepeth and El Amin, particularly the controversial issue of a $70 million construction project by Dominion Resources along the James River which marked that year, with the council approving unanimously despite "agonizing" reservations and shouts of cowardice from the overwhelmingly opposed citizens.* I can recall a man in his seventies who had lived in Richmond all his life, explaining that the view of the river from his neighborhood would be forever blocked. (The city was named for this view by William Byrd because it reminded him of the riverfront seen from the Richmond borough of London.) The proposed height of the project has been reduced, but the city's priorities of putting outside business above the needs of current residents have only increased.

The projected expansion of the Richmond area to encompass all of Central Virginia is becoming manifest, not only because its opposition has lessened through individual battles, but because the council equates economic growth with our well-being as a mindset, and the issue has now been extended beyond city jurisdiction and into the hands of unstoppable private real estate. To the south, Chesterfield is now the fastest-growing county in the state with the once-rural Winterpock area the newest arm of this suburban metropolis.** To the west, the pristine Goochland wilderness has skyrocketed in value to make room for the extension of Short Pump with its new mall. And to the north, DC commuters are now living as far as Caroline County leading one article to ask "is Richmond part of Northern Virginia?"***, an incredible insult to many Richmonders.

Urban sprawl is defined as overdevelopment of land that exceeds the population’s needs or civic capabilities. The "outsourcing" of homes and businesses into endless suburbs releases municipal authority from the very appearance of growth, but still supplies their business patrons with a new workforce and customers. The amount of urbanized land in Richmond over the past 20 years compared to its population growth is almost double that of the economically healthier city of Raleigh, where these investments are incorporated within the city itself. The average middle-class income in Richmond has dropped, while poverty and racial segregation are on the rise.****

The entire South has become a goldmine for real estate developers as they entice people to move here from out of state for our warmer climate, enticing housing packages and the chance to raise a family or spend their retirement in a way they may not have thought possible. These factory-made communities consist of neighbors from all points of the globe with a high rate of turnaround, so there is no shared culture and they come and go with little or no contact with each other. The hit-and-run developers are the overseers of this community instead of reliance upon one another, the home a temporary investment to maintain for eventual resale.

The priorities displayed by the city council and any county that is inviting a landfill, reservoir or factory are clear. New money and new business come first, then the needs of current residents, and lastly culture, history and the environment which are expendable. This pyramid should be reversed. It is the environment on which everyone depends whether they know it or not, then it is native Virginians who have the most knowledge and skill necessary to thrive here, and it is government policy that is expendable. There is nothing wrong with wanting to move here, until you too as a Virginia resident are pushed aside to make room for more.

The reasoning behind the Dominion Resources decision was that it will create jobs and attract investors.* This is like a gramophone store that has exhausted its customer base blaming the city for not bringing in tourists so more people can buy gramophones. Any business is dependent on its own circumstances and savvy to stay afloat. It is not the responsibility of local government to ensure their success, their job is to represent the people who live here. One does not need office buildings or infrastructure to be a resident with equal say. Legislators themselves rely on individual independence, not dependence, to vote on what they hold to be true.

Can the solution to a problem be so simple that it escapes the powers that be? That the alternative is to stop advertising Richmond, and less growth means more attention spent on improving the lives of those who are here? Many of these same people endorse the idea of smaller class sizes in schools, therefore if slums are a byproduct of expansion the answer is regression. A condemned building will stand forever until it is torn down, which means persuading its occupants to leave or allow it to be rebuilt into something new. This is the only hope that stagnant urban areas will ever be changed, or that utility crews downtown won't have to do their work in such cramped conditions eternally. The likely response would be "we can't discourage people from moving here.". Why can't we? Because it's taboo? For more information on the socio-economic factors of sprawl go to http://www.gamaliel.org/DavidRusk/Richmond%20talk%2011-21-02.pdf.

*http://www.richmond.com/news/output.aspx?Article_ID=1732853&Vertical_ID=2&tier=1&position=5
**http://www.taylorlongproperties.com/pdfs/Hancock%20Village.pdf
***http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032601175.html?nav=rss_realestate
****http://www.gamaliel.org/DavidRusk/Richmond%20talk%2011-21-02.pdf

Question of the week: Leadership in all major cities believes uva uvam vivendo varia fit, "the vine that grows is the vine that lives". Is this true? Or do economists have no merit for us Libertarians and we should just bring down this house because they'll never concede? Send your opinions to henrico@richmondliberty.org.

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