Charlotte metropolitan area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Charlotte metropolitan area (also Metrolina, Metro Charlotte, or Charlotte USA) is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. Located in the Piedmont of the Southeastern United States, the Charlotte metropolitan area is well-known for its auto racing history (especially NASCAR) and is one of the largest banking and financial hubs in the nation. It is also the Carolinas' largest manufacturing region[1].
The Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is defined as five counties in North Carolina and one county in South Carolina. The population of the MSA was at 1,405,173 in the 2000 US Census; 2005 estimates place the population at 1,521,278. At present, the metro area is the 36th largest in the U.S and the city of Charlotte is the 18th largest city in the U.S.[2]
The Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury Combined Statistical Area (CSA)[3] is a regional population area including parts of North Carolina and South Carolina with a 2005 population of 2,120,745[4]. The aforementioned MSA is the only metropolitan area (as defined since 2003) included in the CSA, but there are seven included micropolitan areas: Albemarle, Lincolnton, Salisbury, Shelby and Statesville-Mooresville in North Carolina and Lancaster and Chester in South Carolina.
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[edit] Nicknames and regional identity
The regional area around the city was (at one time) called Metrolina, a term which has fallen out of widespread general use, though the state's Department of Transportation still uses the term. The term does retain a marketing value, and is thus also used by many businesses in the area. Metrolina refers to the region that includes the cities of: Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia and Rock Hill, South Carolina.
The name Metrolina came into fashion when North Carolina's other two large metropolitan areas took on nicknames— the Triangle for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and the Triad for Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point. The Triad now goes by the name Piedmont Triad to distinguish it from other tri-cities.
The term Charlotte USA is sometimes also used as the Metro's name, though again in more official and professional circles than in general public usage. The term is championed by the Charlotte Regional Partnership, a non-profit organization made up of both private- and public-sector members from throughout the Charlotte metropolitan area [5].
Region J of the North Carolina Councils of Government, of which a majority of the Charlotte area municipalities and counties belong, uses the term Centralina in its body's name, Centralina Council of Governments. This term, however, is sparingly used among locals.
[edit] Area
[edit] Counties
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Official metropolitan area (Census Bureau definition for CSA)
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Sometimes included Metro Area components include the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord MSA (Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union & York Counties), along with the following micropolitan areas: Albemarle, Chester, Lancaster, Lincolnton, Salisbury, Shelby, and Statesville-Mooresville. The Combined Statistical Area includes all of those entities. Charlotte USA includes all the CSA counties along with Alexander and Catawba counties of North Carolina. |
[edit] Primary cities
- Charlotte, Mecklenburg 614,330
- Concord, Cabarrus 61,092
- Gastonia, Gaston 68,964
- Rock Hill, York 59,554
- Salisbury, Rowan 27,563
[edit] Suburban towns and cities over 10,000 in population
(including county and 2005 census bureau population estimates)
- Albemarle, Stanly 15,390
- Cornelius, Mecklenburg 17,875
- Huntersville, Mecklenburg 34,332
- Indian Trail, Union 15,610
- Kannapolis, Cabarrus & Rowan 38,547
- Kings Mountain, Cleveland & Gaston 10,634
- Lincolnton, Lincoln 10,194
- Matthews, Mecklenburg 23,897
- Mint Hill, Mecklenburg & Union 17,480
- Monroe, Union 28,422
- Mooresville, Iredell 20,122
- Shelby, Cleveland 21,275
- Statesville, Iredell 24,489
[edit] Suburban towns and cities under 10,000 in population
(Including county and 2004 Census Bureau population estimates)
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[edit] Unincorporated communities
(2000 census figures)
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[edit] Transportation
[edit] Mass Transit
The Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, is the local public transit agency that operates bus service that serves Charlotte and its immediate suburban communities in both North and South Carolina. CATS is also constructing a light rail and commuter rail network as a supplement to its established bus transit throughout the region. Plans are for it to stretch initially to Mooresville, Pineville, Matthews, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. Service is scheduled to begin operation in 2007.
[edit] Roads
The Charlotte region is also served by 3 major interstate highways, and their 2 spurs: I-85, I-77, I-40, I-277, and I-485 - I-85 and I-77 intersect in North Charlotte, with the transcontinental I-40 passing across the northern portion of the region (linked to Charlotte and Gastonia via I-77 and the US 321 freeway). Other major freeways include Independence Boulevard (east Charlotte to I-277), a portion of US 321 between Hickory and Gastonia, the proposed Garden Parkway loop around Gastonia, and the proposed Monroe Connector and Monroe Bypass. I-77 is being expanded and improved through north Mecklenburg County, and I-85 (6-8 lanes through Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties) will eventually have 6-8 lanes from Greenville, SC to Durham, NC.
Other important US highways in the region include: US 74 (east to Wilmington, west to Asheville and Chattanooga), US 52 (through the eastern part of the region), US 321 (through Chester, York, Gastonia, Dallas, Lincolnton and Hickory), US 601 (passing east of Charlotte) and US 70 (through Salisbury, Statesville and Hickory).
Primary state routes include NC/SC 49, NC 16 (which extends north to West Virginia), NC 73, NC 150, NC 18, NC 24, NC 27, SC 9 and SC 5.
[edit] Air
Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the 17th busiest in the country, is supplemented by regional airports in Concord, Gastonia, Statesville, Monroe, and Hickory in North Carolina, as well as Rock Hill, South Carolina.
[edit] Higher education
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[edit] Attractions
[edit] Nature and geography
The foothills of the Blue Ridge begin along the western edge of the region; the descent (the fall line) to the coastal plain begins along the eastern edge. Amid this varied topography, the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and several state parks (Morrow Mountain, Crowders Mountain, South Mountains, Duke Power, Landsford Canal, Andrew Jackson) offer recreational possibilities, along with the Uwharrie National Forest just east and northeast of Albemarle, and the Sumter National Forest at the southwest corner of the area. Kings Mountain National Military Park is partially located in York County and in Cherokee County near Blacksburg, SC.
[edit] Cultural attractions
Other attractions include the Afro-American Cultural Center (in Charlotte), Discovery Place (in Charlotte), Spirit Square (in Charlotte), the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center (in Charlotte), Children's Theatre of Charlotte[1], The Mint Museums (in Charlotte), the Schiele Museum (in Gastonia), Carowinds Theme Park (in Mecklenburg County, NC and York County, SC), Lowes Motor Speedway (in Concord), the Carolina Raptor Center (in Huntersville), Latta Plantation (in Huntersville), Historic Brattonsville (in McConnells), the North Carolina Transportation Museum (in Spencer), Fort Dobbs historical site (in Statesville), the Museum Of York County (in Rock Hill), James K. Polk historical site (in Pineville), the Charlotte Museum Of History (in Charlotte), Wing Haven Gardens (in Charlotte), the Levine Museum Of The New South (in Charlotte), the Catawba Cultural Center (in York County), the Museum Of The Waxhaws (in Waxhaw), Glencairn Gardens (in Rock Hill), and the Reed Gold Mine (in Locust).
[edit] Entertainment
The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte is located just outside Charlotte in the University City community of Mecklenburg County. The performing arts ampitheatre has hosted many popular music concerts.
[edit] Shopping
Regional-scale Shopping malls include SouthPark Mall, Northlake Mall, Eastland Mall (all in Charlotte), Carolina Place Mall (Pineville), Rock Hill Galleria (Rock Hill), Westfield Shoppingtown Eastridge (Gastonia), Concord Mills (Concord) and Valley Hills Mall (Hickory).
Other important malls in the area include Carolina Mall (Concord), Gaston Mall (Gastonia), Monroe Mall (Monroe), and Signal Hill Mall (Statesville).
Concord Mills is unique in that it does not feature the typical anchor stores found at the other mall; it focuses more on attracting outlet store tenants. As of 2006, the mall is the state's largest tourist attraction, visited by over 15 million annually.
Alongside enclosed malls and strip centers are several other shopping districts. Several downtowns can claim an abundance of shopping options, along with restaurants and other entertainment, and a few other specific districts have emerged: Central Avenue, especially in the Plaza-Midwood area; the NoDa area of North Charlotte; and the Arboretum in southeast Charlotte (geographically, south), to offer a handful of examples. Several of these areas are at the center of the area's growing immigrant business communities.
[edit] Sports
In addition to the Lowes Motor Speedway, there are plenty of other sports venues, including the Knights Castle in Fort Mill (home of the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox), Bank of America Stadium (home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers), and Charlotte Bobcats Arena (home of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, and the East Coast Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers). The Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer Leagues call the area home, and the Kannapolis Intimidators, another minor-league affiliate of the White Sox, are also located in the metropolitan area.
[edit] Commerce and employment
Among the largest employers in the area (listed in order by number of local employees) are[6]:
- Wachovia
- Carolinas Healthcare System
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Bank of America
- City of Charlotte
- US Airways
- Duke Energy
- Mecklenburg County
- Presbyterian Healthcare
- Lowe's
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- BellSouth
- Belk
- Family Dollar
- Food Lion
- IBM
Companies with headquarters in the region include Bank of America, Lowe's, Wachovia, Duke Energy, Nucor, BellSouth Telecommunications, the Compass Group, Royal & SunAlliance (USA), Belk, Food Lion and Family Dollar.
Charlotte has gained fame as the second largest banking and finance center in the U.S., and the area's orientation towards emerging industries is seen in the success of the University Research Park (the 7th largest research park in the country) and the redevelopment of part of the Pillowtex site in Kannapolis as a biotech research facility featuring the participation of University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University.
[edit] People
Artist Romare Bearden, astronauts Charles Duke and Susan Helms, evangelist Billy Graham, musicians Earl Scruggs (Flatt & Scruggs), George Clinton (Parliament, Funkadelic), Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Todd Rundgren, Utopia), Blind Boy Fuller and Randy Travis, independent filmmakers Tim Kirkman (Loggerheads, Dear Jesse) and Ross McElwee (Bright Leaves, Sherman's March), actor Randolph Scott, actress Berlinda Tolbert (she played Jenny on the long-running, classic 70's sitcom "The Jeffersons"), political figures Sue Myrick, Harvey Gantt, Elizabeth Dole and Jesse Helms, U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk, professional wrestling legend Ric Flair and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
R&B singers Anthony Hamilton and K-Ci & JoJo of Jodeci. Novelist, playwright and screenwriter Carson McCullers was a Charlotte resident while writing her best known works. More recently, Reflections Studios in Charlotte played an important role in the emergent late-20th-century American musical underground - R.E.M., Pylon, Let's Active, Don Dixon and Charlotte's Fetchin Bones (among many others) all recorded influential and acclaimed albums there. Charlotte-based Ripete and Surfside Records maintain important catalogs of regional soul and beach music, and the area has also played a role in the history of gospel, bluegrass and country music. The Milestone, one of the first punk clubs in the South, is located in west Charlotte, and in the past hosted legendary appearances from the likes of R.E.M., Black Flag, Charlotte's Antiseen and many others.
[edit] Government
A majority of the municipalities and counties in the North Carolina parts of the Charlotte metropolitan area belong to the Centralina Council of Governments. Cleveland County belongs to the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission and Alexander and Catawba counties belong to the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Charlotte Chamber of Commerce: Manufacturing in the Region
- ^ Charlotte Chamber of Commerce: Census 2000 Info
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau CSAs
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau 2005 population estimates of Combined Statistical Areas
- ^ Charlotte USA - Charlotte Regional Partnership
- ^ Charlotte USA - Regional Communities
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| Topics |
Charlotteans | History | Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence | Charlotte Mint | Queen Charlotte |
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| Sports Teams | Carolina Panthers-NFL | Charlotte Bobcats-NBA | Charlotte Checkers -ECHL | Charlotte Eagles-USL-2 | Charlotte Knights-IL | Charlotte RFC-RSL | |
| Newspapers |
Charlotte Observer | Rhinoceros Times | Charlotte Post |
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| Television Stations |
3WBTV-CBS | 9WSOC-ABC | 14WHKY-Ind. (Hickory) | 18WCCB-FOX | 30WNSC-PBS/SCETV (Rock Hill) | 36WCNC-NBC | 42WTVI-PBS | 46WJZY-The CW | 55WMYT-My Network TV | 58WUNC-PBS/UNCTV | 64WAXN-Ind. |
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| Metrolina |
North Carolina: Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cabarrus, Anson, Union, Rowan, Stanly, Cleveland | South Carolina: York, Chester, Lancaster |
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| Mass Transit Provider |
