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income and interests.
So it is troubling that many working people can no longer afford to live in the county, due in part to rising land prices. And the percentage of non-whites is less than half what it was in the 1950s60s (8 percent as opposed to 17 percent).
One indicator that we are becoming a “bedroom community” is that 55 percent of those employed outside the home commuted out of the county in 1980, and the figure is no doubt higher now. (Our average commute time is the third highest in Virginia, and the 15th highest in the country.)
Economic diversity is also fundamental to the balance and integrity of a community. Localities that rely exclusively on one economic asset, such as tourism, can lose their integrity as communities. Gatlinburg, Tenn., has been a dramatic commercial success, but there are no residential neighborhoods left in the town.
Towns that become trendy, like Telluride, Co]o., can lose their balance in a flood of wealthy weekenders. Some people get rich in a development boom, but the community often suffers.
Stability is essential for a sustainable community. But change is inevitable, and kneejerk rejection of development is foolhardy. That is why planning land. use and managing growth are so important. There is no magic bullet, no one-shot solution — only citizens working together over time to achieve shared objectives and preserve a high quality of life for the next generation.
It all begins with the land. And, as my mother is fond of saying, they aren’t making any more of it.
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