Vanilla City and its Chocolate Suburbs

• Minorities Driving Growth in D.C. Area

Asians, Latinos and other minorities accounted for two-thirds of the Washington region's recent population growth, according to new census figures that point to dramatic increases in counties well beyond the Capital Beltway.  But according to the WP much of the movement is outside of D.C.  "You've got some black suburbanization, you've got Asian movement to the suburbs, and then, of course, the growing Hispanic population is making its way out there," said William H. Frey, a University of Michigan demographer who studies metropolitan areas. "Some of them are total suburbanites, and the others are moving out because of the jobs being created there."  The census numbers showed that the black population -- and its share of the total population -- continued to decline in the District, as it has for several decades, reflecting a losing contest with the suburbs. The city's population was 58 percent black in 2003, according to the estimates, down from 60 percent in 2000.  The census estimates are considered less accurate than door-to-door counts taken every 10 years. They are based largely on government records such as birth and death certificates, visa data and tax returns.  [more ]