page_title: History of Richmond, Virginia
section_title: 2000–present
hierarchical_section_title: History of Richmond, Virginia / 21st century / 2000–present
caption_attribution_description: Skyline de Richmond
context_page_description: The history of Richmond, Virginia, as a modern city, dates to the early 17th century, and is crucial to the development of the colony of Virginia, the American Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. After Reconstruction, Richmond's location at the falls of the James River helped it develop a diversified economy and become a land transportation hub.
context_section_description: By the early 21st century, the population of the greater Richmond metropolitan area had reached approximately 1,100,000 although the population of the city itself had declined to less than 200,000.
  The floodwall downtown was expanded, and opened the doors for the development of the riverfront, stretching along the James River from the historic Tredegar Iron Works site, just west of 7th Street, to 17th Street downtown.  Recent renovations included the rebuilt James River and Kanawha Canal and Haxall Canal, now designed as a Canal Walk.  The riverfront project has brought this 1.25-mile (2.01 km) corridor back to life, with trendy loft apartments, restaurants, shops and hotels winding along the Canal Walk, along with canal boat cruises and walking tours.  The National Park Service's Richmond Civil War Visitor Center, in the Tredegar Iron Works, brought three floors of exhibits and artifacts, films, a bookstore, picnic areas and more. Virginia Commonwealth University has also been aggressively developing its campuses downtown, with the new Stuart C. Siegel Center athletic complex, and RAMZ apartments.
  In 2002, the new, expanded Greater Richmond Convention Center opened for business, containing more than 600,000 square feet (60,000 m²).  The convention center, located in the heart of downtown Richmond, is the largest of its kind in the state. Renovation continues in the historic neighborhood of Jackson Ward, to bring the neighborhood off the National Trust Historic Preservation's list of one of America's most endangered historic places.  Encompassing forty blocks, Jackson Ward was once deemed the "Black Wall Street" and the "Harlem of the South" in the 19th century. Restaurants such as Croaker's Spot and attractions like the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, keep Jackson Ward on the list as one of the Richmond area's most culturally significant stops for visitors to the area.
  On September 19, 2003, Hurricane Isabel's sustained winds of 40–60 miles per hour (64–97 km/h) caused major power outages in the area. A year later, in September 2004, Tropical Storm Gaston swept through the area, bringing with it intense rain, causing severe flooding in the Shockoe Bottom business district, as well as major electrical outages throughout the metropolitan area.
  On August 31, 2004, the Shockoe Bottom district was devastated by flooding brought on by torrential rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Gaston.  The storm lingered over the Richmond area, dumping nearly 12 inches (300 mm) of rain in the Shockoe Bottom watershed which then backed up behind the James River flood wall.  A 20-block area, including most of Shockoe Bottom, was declared uninhabitable in the wake of the flood. The "Bottom" has recovered as a major restaurant and night club district after changes to the area's sewage system were made to prevent a re-occurrence.
  On November 2, 2004, former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder was elected as Richmond's first directly-elected mayor in over 60 years.
  In 2008, the AAA baseball Richmond Braves left Richmond for Gwinnett County, Georgia, due to the lack of agreement from Richmond area governments to finance the construction of a new ballpark. They were replaced in 2010 with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
  In the 2010 census the population in Richmond finally grew for the first time in 40 years due to revitalization of places like Shockoe Bottom, and rapid gentrification of neighborhoods like The Fan and The Museum District, Church Hill, Jackson Ward, and in more recent years, Manchester.
caption: Richmond at night
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