However, the temptation to sell the family farm has turned many former fields into subdivisions and office parks in the past decade. The entire region was an economic hotspot during the early 1980s when federal spending was on the upswing. With the military rapidly expanding, eager defense contractors moved in to do business and thousands of workers left tougher economies for the greener pastures of Hampton Roads. As a result neighborhoods, shopping centers and office parks sprung up across the land as the region added 200,000 new jobs during the 1980s. Development moves at a less manic pace today as the region works to balance its economic prosperity with preservation of its environment.
Water still plays a vital role in shaping Hampton Roads' history, as does war.
In addition, thousands of civil-service workers and employees of area defense contractors also headed to the Persian Gulf. Half the warships in the Gulf were homeported here. When the war ended, the region celebrated with enthusiastic homecomings that harked back to World War II as bands, banners and tearful relatives welcomed home their heroes. Today Hampton Roads' heritage is still visible despite the area's high-rise office towers, interstate highways and suburban homes. Its economy, although greatly diversified in recent years, remains rooted in the military and the port.