Sprawl hits ‘Burg

As I have been exposed to immigrant movements through my work at the Harrisonburg City Schools Intake Center, it has amazed me how much growth is occurring. Since its opening in January, around 50 students have gone through the entry process.

With four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, this large amount of students overwhelms teachers and fills up classrooms. Along with each of these students comes a family, documented or undocumented, that has chosen this area as a place to live.

Can Harrisonburg’s population density withstand such an influx or will the city continue to slowly seep into Rockingham County, chipping away at the beauty of the farms? The need for expansion is already being attended to as a new high school and housing developments are being built, but even this construction is taking place at the edge of the city and into the country.

How much should the city allow for expansion? There needs to be a point at which the rural land actually stays rural. Discouraging economic growth, however, goes against what the United States has stood by for years. At what point does the economic and population growth collide with saving rural land?

As I run in and out of the city each day, I find such a solace in the country, and the sight of the ever-expanding city brings much grief. Do housing developments, particularly townhouses, really need to overtake the landscape? Yet as all these questions run through me, I find joy behind the face of each immigrant that comes through the Intake Center. In this land of economic possibilities, they delight in having a place to make those dreams come true – a place where they can feel accepted and where their children can learn English from one of the best ESL programs in the state. Harrisonburg is a good fit for an immigrant family, but I wish that as they contribute to the growth of population and economic expansion, it wouldn’t ruin the beauty of the farmlands just outside city limits.