Virginia Census Data - Backwardness Results in Slowed Growth and Lost Legislative Clout

I have argued numerous times that areas that are intolerant and hostile to modernity are slowly killing themselves socially and economically. The newly released census data for Virginia bears this out with most of the Commonwealth's significant population growth in relatively liberal Northern Virginia and around Charlottesville while the bulk of losses in population focuses in the reactionary areas of southwest Virginia (e.g., Patrick County, Henry County and Martisville all lost population). A map found here allows one to see the pattern county by county. This divergent growth also means that areas of slow growth or no growth will lose influence in the Virginia General Assembly and in Congress when redistricting is completed. Frankly, I view this as a good thing since for far too long the backward rural areas of Virginia have held far too much sway and have retarded progress across the rest of the state. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot on the political ramifications:
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Hampton Roads will take a hit when legislative district lines are redrawn this year to reflect population changes over the past decade. The region's population has grown about 6 percent since 2000, according to preliminary data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That's less than half of Virginia's statewide growth rate of 13 percent, which means the region can expect to lose representation when the required remapping is done.
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The big winner is Northern Virginia, which grew at a robust 24 percent. That means a decades-long trend of shifting political power from downstate to the booming Washington suburbs will continue. The shift will leave local lawmakers of both parties scrambling to save their own skins in a zero-sum game of political musical chairs.
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One potential casualty of any reshuffling done in the Senate is the current level of Virginia Beach representation.

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The clear message to Hampton Roads localities - and even more so southwestern Virginia - ought to be that business as usual is a recipe for future political and economic disaster. The City of Hampton lost population but, based on what I've seen so far with its diversity effort that includes LGBT perspectives, it seems among the few Hampton Roads cities that gets the message that tolerance, cultural diversity and progressive views can mean economic improvement. How it plays out is yet to be seen.