Delaware Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Common name: Delaware Valley |
|
| Largest city Other cities |
Philadelphia Camden & Wilmington |
| Population | Ranked 4th in the U.S. |
| - Total | 5,823,233 (2005 est.) |
| - Density | 1,138 /sq. mi. 439 /km² |
| Area | 5,118 sq. mi. 13,256 km² |
| State(s) | - Pennsylvania - New Jersey - Delaware - Maryland |
| Elevation | |
| - Highest point | N/A feet (N/A m) |
| - Lowest point | 0 feet (0 m) |
The Delaware Valley is the name of the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia in the United States. The region is named for the Delaware River which flows through it. The Office of Management and Budget officially defines the region as the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Delaware Valley is composed of several counties in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and contains a population of 5,823,233 (as of the 2005 Census Bureau estimate). Philadelphia, being the region's major commercial, cultural, and industrial center, maintains a rather large sphere of influence that affects those counties that immediately surround it. The majority of the region's populace reside in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Greater Philadelphia Area is also one of the wealthiest regions in the United States.[citation needed]
The Delaware Valley is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States[1] and is located in the middle of the BosWash megalopolis, the name given for a group of metropolitan areas in the northeastern United States, extending from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.
Based on commuter flows, a wider labor market region known as the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland Combined Statistical Area is additionally defined. This wider region adds the metropolitan areas of Vineland, New Jersey and Reading, Pennsylvania and has a total population of 6,372,799.
Contents |
[edit] Character
The area has extensive suburban sprawl. King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey are two of the largest suburban edge cities. Philadelphia's suburbs contain a high concentration of malls including the King of Prussia Mall, the second largest on the East Coast and the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the first enclosed mall on the East Coast. Malls, office complexes, strip shopping plazas, expressways, and tract housing are common sites, and more and more are continued to be constructed as these replace rolling countryside, farms, woods, and wetlands. However, recent opposition made by residents and political officials, many acres of land have been preserved throughout the Delaware Valley. Older small towns and large boroughs such as Norristown, Jenkintown and West Chester remain while engulfed in suburbia. The fastest growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Gloucester. Many of the counties outside the metropolitan area are also experiencing rapid growth, such as Lancaster County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, and Berks County. South Jersey is experiencing faster growth than the rest of the state.
[edit] Population change
The Delaware Valley lost population in the 1970s, but went on a rebound from the 1980s till the present. After each passing decade, the population increases more. It is predicted that the region will grow by as much as 10% from 2000 to 2010[citation needed], which is faster than the national average. The area boasts safe[citation needed], prospering suburbs and cities, cleaner air[citation needed] than most metropolitan areas, and cultural and ethnic enclaves. The area boasts a large influx[citation needed] of foreign born residents, hailing from many countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
[edit] Counties making up the Delaware Valley
[edit] Delaware
[edit] Maryland
[edit] New Jersey
- Burlington County
- Camden County
- Cumberland County (Vineland metropolitan area)
- Gloucester County
- Salem County
[edit] Pennsylvania
- Berks County (Reading metropolitan area) (added by the Census Bureau in 2005[2])
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Delaware County
- Montgomery County
- Philadelphia County
Subscript text
[edit] Primary Cities
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Camden, New Jersey
- Reading, Pennsylvania (added by the Census Bureau in 2005 [3])
- Vineland, New Jersey
[edit] Counties Adjacent to the Delaware Valley
The counties listed below are not physically or officially part of the Delaware Valley, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, these counties have seen increased growth and growing links to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and the Delaware Valley in recent years. This trend is due to increased economic trade and transportation links to the Delaware Valley. In recent decades, there has also been a rapid trend of out migration from Philadelphia and its suburbs by commuters and others seeking lower housing prices and a lower cost of living, further linking these counties with the greater Philadelphia area.
While unlikely in the near future, it is not impossible to assume that some of these counties will one day be considered part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and the Delaware Valley if rapid population and economic growth continues. For example, Berks County, which long bordered the Delaware Valley, was recently added to the metropolitan area by the U.S. Census in 2005. Lehigh and Northampton County continue to remain distinct, since they receive more migrants from the New York City metropolitan area than the Delaware Valley.
In contrast, Mercer County, New Jersey had formerly been part of the Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area. However, it was redesignated as part of the New York Metropolitan Area in 2000.
[edit] Delaware
[edit] New Jersey
- Atlantic County
- Cape May County
- Mercer County (part of the New York Metropolitan Area)
- Monmouth County (part of the New York Metropolitan Area)
- Ocean County (part of the New York Metropolitan Area)
[edit] Pennsylvania
[edit] Transportation
Many residents commute to jobs in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, and increasingly as far as New York City, with the help of expressways and trains. Commutes from one suburb to another are also common, as office parks have sprung up in new commercial centers such as King of Prussia, Fort Washington, Cherry Hill, and Plymouth Meeting.
[edit] Commuter Rail
- SEPTA Regional Rail
- R1 Airport Route connecting Central Philadelphia with Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties and R1 Glenside route serving North Philadelphia and Montgomery County
- R2 Marcus Hook/Wilmington/Delaware route connecting the Wilmington, DE area (with limited weekday service to Newark, DE), via Chester City and Delaware County and R2 Warminster route serving southeastern Montgomery County.
- R3 West Trenton connecting Central Philadelphia northern to the Trenton, NJ area, serving Bucks County, PA between Jenkintown, PA and Yardley, PA, with the final stop in West Trenton, NJ. R3 Media/Elwyn (southern) route connecting Philadelphia to central Delaware County.
- R5 Paoli/Downingtown/Thorndale route connecting Philadelphia with the affluent Main Line area and western Chester County near Coatesville and R5 Lansdale/Doylestown connecting Philadelphia with Lansdale in central Montgomery County and Doylestown in Bucks County.
- R6 Norristown route connecting Philadelphia with Conshohocken and Norristown in Montgomery County and R6 Cynwyd route connecting Philadelphia with Bala Cynwyd on the Philadelphia/Montgomery County line.
- R7 Trenton Route connecting Philadelphia to the Trenton, NJ, serving Bucks County and R7 Chestnut Hill East line connecting Central Philadelphia with Chestnut Hill area of city.
- R8 Chestnut Hill West route connecting Central Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill area and R8 Fox Chase connecting Central Philadelphia with Fox Chase area in Philadelphia.
- New Jersey Transit
- Atlantic City Line connecting Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ with connections to PATCO Speedline in Lindenwold, NJ
- River Line connecting Camden (NJ) to Trenton (NJ) running along the east bank of the Delaware River
- PATCO Speedline connecting Philadelphia to Lindenwold, NJ in Camden County with connections to NJT's Atlantic City Line
[edit] Major Highways
- Interstate 95
- Interstate 76
- Interstate 176
- Interstate 476
- Interstate 676
- Interstate 295 (Delaware & New Jersey)
- Interstate 495
- Delaware Turnpike
- New Jersey Turnpike
- Pennsylvania Turnpike
- U.S. Route 1
- U.S. Route 9
- U.S. Route 13
- U.S. Route 30
- U.S. Route 40
- U.S. Route 130
- U.S. Route 202
- U.S. Route 301
- U.S. Route 422
- Del. Route 1 Turnpike
- N.J. Route 42/Atlantic City Expressway
- N.J. Route 55
[edit] Airports
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE)
- New Castle Airport (ILG)
- Reading Regional Airport (RDG)
[edit] Lexicon note
Some believe that the term "Delaware Valley" is subtly different than "Greater Philadelphia." "Greater Philadelphia" implies that the region is centered on the city in an economic and cultural context, while "Delaware Valley" is a more generic geographic term that doesn't imply that any part is of more consequence than any other. Several organizations, such as KYW Radio and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, consciously use the term "Greater Philadelphia" to assert their view that Philadelphia is the center of the region, and that the suburbs are only relevant as, in GPTMC's terms, "Philadelphia's countryside." Many who work and live in the suburbs and rarely if ever visit the city don't agree and tend to use the term "Delaware Valley," which lacks the dominant city vs. dependent suburbs subtext.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Rankings for Metropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2006/b06-01_rev_2.pdf
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2006/b06-01_rev_2.pdf
- ^ Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
[edit] External links
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
- Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
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State of New Jersey Trenton (capital) |
|---|---|
| Regions |
Central Jersey | Delaware Valley | Jersey Shore | Meadowlands | North Jersey | Pine Barrens | Shore Region | Skylands Region | South Jersey | New York metro area | Tri‑State Region |
| Cities |
Atlantic City | Bayonne | Camden | Cherry Hill | Clifton | East Orange | Edison | Elizabeth | Hackensack | Hoboken | Jersey City | Linden | Long Branch | New Brunswick | Newark | Passaic | Paterson | Perth Amboy | Plainfield | Princeton | Toms River | Trenton | Union City | Vineland |
| Counties |
Atlantic | Bergen | Burlington | Camden | Cape May | Cumberland | Essex | Gloucester | Hudson | Hunterdon | Mercer | Middlesex | Monmouth | Morris | Ocean | Passaic | Salem | Somerset | Sussex | Union | Warren |
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State of Delaware Dover (capital) |
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State of Maryland Annapolis (capital) |
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Baltimore‑Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley | Eastern Shore | Southern Maryland | Western Maryland | Western Shore |
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| Counties |
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