I've lived in Northern Virginia for most of my life, and have seen it go through a lot of growth. One thing to bear in mind is that, prior to World War II, Northern Virginia was almost all rural. Old Town Alexandria was pretty much the only city. All of the growth in Northern Virginia during and since World War II has been driven by the growth of the federal government, and much of the lousy urban planning has been because the federal government has been growing faster than any of the urban planners expected.
