Officials OK with Longview’s Growth

The recent U.S. Census Bureau’s American Cities Survey put the population in Longview, TX at a little more than 229,000 from 2000 to 2015. Though the number represented a 6.9% increase from the 2010 census, it was well off the 10.5% growth rate experienced during the 2000s, and far less than the 10% rate Texas reported in the same period.

And that growth rate is just fine, according to Longview city officials. “We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had the explosive growth that outpaces what we can keep up with,” Development Services Director Michael Shirley told the Longview News-Journal.

In fact, Longview’s comprehensive plan, which was adopted in early 2015, is moving the city away from linear strip development, in which commercial businesses line major roads. The city is attempting to encourage more residential development along roads to help prevent urban sprawl and strip development.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Amy Sorter

For advertising information, please contact Joni Margotta