New Orleans metropolitan area
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The New Orleans Metropolitan Area, centered around the city of New Orleans, is the largest metropolitan area (MSA) in the Gulf South.
The U.S. Census designation of the area, as of the 2005 definition, is the "New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner MSA." This metro area includes seven parishes with a total population of 1.4 million, ranking it as the 35th largest MSA in the United States.[1]
The area was hit by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. In December 2005, the estimated population was approximately 900,000 to 950,000. As of June 2006, the estimated population was approximately 1.2 million.
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[edit] Parishes
For U.S. Census purposes, this MSA includes seven parishes: Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist.
The Louisiana state legislature created a commission, the Regional Planning Commission, to be responsible for the planning and development of the New Orleans metropolitian area. The parishes covered by the commission are: Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany.
The Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has designated the New Orleans metropolitan area as the Greater New Orleans region[2] This region includes four parishes: Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard.
[edit] Geographic Terms
In the New Orleans metropolitan area, the following geographic terms are used: East Bank, West Bank, North Shore and River Parishes.
[edit] "East Bank" and "West Bank"
The Mississippi River divides the United States into east and west. In southeast Louisiana, the term "East Bank" is often used refer to any area that lies along the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, while the term "West Bank" is often used to refer to any area that lies along the western bank of the river. These terms are most commonly used in those parishes that are dissected into two sides by the Mississippi River, which include St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines.
In the New Orleans metropolitan area, the term "East Bank" is often used as a blanket term to refer to all of portions of suburban New Orleans that are situated on the eastern bank of the river, while the term "West Bank" is used a blanket term to refer to all of portions of suburban New Orleans that are situated on the western bank of the river. The majority of the population of suburban New Orleans resides on the East Bank.
The East Bank of suburban New Orleans includes the East Bank of Jefferson Parish (including the suburbs of Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, Harahan, Elmwood, and Jefferson) and the East Bank of Orleans Parish (including the majority of the city of New Orleans). Further down the Mississippi River are those suburbs of New Orleans that are located in St. Bernard Parish, which include Arabi, Chalmette, and Meraux (and, arguably, Violet and Poydras). All of St. Bernard Parish is located east of the river, extending from the eastern bank of the river back into the marshlands.
The West Bank of suburban New Orleans includes the West Bank of Jefferson Parish (including the suburbs of Waggaman, Avondale, Bridge City, Westwego, Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, Terrytown, Estelle, Timberlane, and Woodmere) and the West Bank of Orleans Parish (including the New Orleans communities of Algiers and English Turn). Further down the Mississippi River is the suburb of Belle Chasse, which is located on the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish. Plaquemines Parish covers the final leg of the Mississippi River before it enters the Gulf of Mexico (downriver from Belle Chasse, Plaquemines has numerous rural communities scattered along both banks of the river, but none of these communities have a population higher that 5,000).
[edit] "North Shore"
The term "North Shore" refers to areas that lie on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, which is covered by St. Tammany Parish. The North Shore includes the communities of Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, Abita Springs, Lacombe, Eden Isle and Slidell.
[edit] "River Parishes"
The term "River Parishes" refers to those parishes along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The two River Parishes nearest to New Orleans are St. Charles (including the cities of Destrehan, Luling and Hahnville) and St. John the Baptist (including the cities of Laplace and Reserve).
[edit] Cities and census designated places
[edit] Principal cities (Places with over 50,000 inhabitants)
- New Orleans
- Kenner
- Metairie, unincorporated community
[edit] Places between 10,000 and 50,000 inhabitants |
[edit] Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants |
[edit] Transportation
The Louis Armstrong International Airport is located in western part of Jefferson Parish in the city of Kenner. Major highways in the area include Interstate 10, Interstate 12, and U.S. Highway 90. Train service is provide by Amtrak on the Crescent, City of New Orleans and Sunset Limited routes.
Since Louisiana is under constant threat from hurricanes, the Louisiana State Police are prepared to enact a contraflow lane reversal program in order to evacuate the metropolitan area as quickly as possible.
[edit] See also
- Intrastate regions
- Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and Reconstruction of New Orleans
- French Louisiana
