Geography of Louisville, Kentucky

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Louisville is a city in Jefferson County, Kentucky. It is located at the Falls of the Ohio River.

1 Geography
2 Climate
3 Cityscape
- 3.1 Tallest buildings
- 3.2 Future development projects
4 References

[edit] Geography

Louisville is located at 38°13′44″N, 85°44′58″W (38.228870, -85.749534)^GR1. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisville Metro (in 2000 measurements for Jefferson County) has a total area of 1,032 km² (399 mi²). 997 km² (385 mi²) of it is land and 35 km² (13 mi²) of it (3.38%) is water.

Although the soils and underlying rocks officially put Louisville in the Bluegrass region, the city's landscape is better described as being in a very wide part of the Ohio River flood plain. Louisville's part of the valley is located between two plateaus, the karst plateau of Southern Indiana and the Bluegrass plateau of Kentucky, both with an elevation of around 900 feet. Elevations drop off the Indiana plateau very sharply via the Muldraugh Escarpment, whereas the rise in elevation up to the Bluegrass plateau is done more gradually.

The flood plain is much longer north to south than it is east to west. For example, within several miles of downtown, the Highlands sitting at 540 feet is out of the thousand year flood plain, whereas areas 10 miles from downtown such as Fairdale and Okolona (both between seven and 11 miles from the river) have the same elevation as downtown Louisville. Most areas in the east end have an elevation from 600 to 700 feet, which with the typically east bound winds, traps in heat and pollutants in.

Areas along and west of the south fork of Beargrass Creek (and more generally, I-65) are located where the Ohio River once ran, so the land here is very flat and is composed of harder rocks. Prior to urbanization much of this area was composed of wetlands — early roads through it were laid over wooden planks. This history is occasionally still readily evident in street names, for example the spoke road Poplar Level, whose name describes its original construction on planks of poplar. 3rd Street was formerly called Central Plank Road for the same reason. As industry, namely Standiford Field airport, moved into the area in the 1950s most creeks through the area were rerouted into ditches to alleviate the area's poor drainage and constant flooding.

Population density of Jefferson County, darkest green representing the most dense areas, which include Old Louisville, parts of the West End and the Highlands, the Churchill downs area, Crescent Hill and Newburg.

Areas east of I-65 were generally not in the flood plain and thus are mostly gentle rollings hills composed of soft loess soils, hence the reason roads here (such as Eastern Parkway) are very prone to potholes. The southern quarter of Jefferson County is in the scenic and rugged Knobs region. This is the only part of Jefferson County to not have experienced any urbanization and is today almost entirely parkland for the Jefferson Memorial Forest. The eastern third is in the Eden Shale Hills section of the Bluegrass region and has also experienced less urbanization than the flood plain, although that is starting to change.

The Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 43rd largest in the United States, includes the Kentucky counties of Jefferson (contiguous with Louisville Metro), Bullitt, Henry, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble. The southern Indiana counties Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Washington are also included in the Louisville MSA. This MSA is included in the Louisville-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which also includes the Elizabethtown, KY MSA (composed of Hardin and Larue Counties) as well as the Scottsburg, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Louisville CSA ranks 31st in the USA in population. ^[1]

17% of the state's population lives in Jefferson County and 25% live in counties in the Louisville CSA, and also Jefferson County has 2.5 times more people than Kentucky's second most populous county, Fayette County. 12 of the 15 buildings in Kentucky over 300 feet are located in Downtown Louisville. Almost 40% of the population growth in Kentucky are in Louisville's CSA counties.

[edit] Climate

Graph constructed from data located on the NOAA Website ^[2]

Louisville is located on the northern limit of the humid subtropical climate. Summers are hot and humid with mildly warm evenings. The mean annual temperature is 56 °F (13 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 16.4 inches (41 cm) and an average annual rainfall of 44.53 inches (1131 mm). The wettest seasons are the spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant all year round. During the winter, particularly in January and February, several days of snow can be expected, allowing for winter sports. January is the coldest month with average highs of 41 °F and average lows of 25 °F (5 to −4 °C) and July the hottest month with average high and low temperatures from 87 to 69.8 °F (31 and 21 °C).^[3] The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 14, 1954, and the lowest recorded temperature was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 19, 1994.^[4] However, in any season, temperatures can vary widely day by day, because of Louisville's location where many fronts often converge. Severe weather is not uncommon; the area is prone to almost all types of non-tropical weather extremes, including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, ice storms and extreme heat and cold.

Much like the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, Louisville's Ohio River Valley location traps air pollution. Because of this, the city is ranked as one of Environmental Defense's fifty worst cities for air. Louisville also often exemplifies the heat island effect. Temperatures in commercial areas and in the industrialized areas along interstates are often higher than in the suburbs, particularly the shaded areas, like Anchorage, where temperatures are often five degrees cooler.

[edit] Cityscape

See also: Louisville neighborhoods

Louisville skyline at night

The downtown business district of Louisville is located immediately south of the Ohio River, and southeast of the Falls of the Ohio. The airport is located approximately 6.5 miles (10 km) south of the downtown area, and easily connected to most parts of the city by three Interstate Highways, maximizing its accessibility. The largest industrial sections of town are located to the south and west of the airport, while most of the residential areas of the city are located to the southwest, south and east of downtown.

The most affluent residential areas are to the east of downtown Louisville. The nine richest locations by per capita income in Kentucky, and 19 of the top 20 such locations, are found in this East End, which trace their origins to several 19th century summer colonies for wealthy Louisvillians. The nearest to downtown, as well as the wealthiest in terms of average income, is Mockingbird Valley, and the two most prominent and oldest Eastern Jefferson County cities are Anchorage and Glenview.

Another major business district is located in the more suburban area east of the city on Hurstbourne Parkway. This area is considered Louisville's key edge city — a relatively new concentration of business, shopping and entertainment outside a traditional urban area. Louisville also boasts a large number of parks, with 122 parks covering more than 14,000 acres (57 km²).

At present, there are only three road bridges crossing the Ohio River to Indiana: the Sherman Minton Bridge (I-64), the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (I-65) and the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge or Second Street Bridge (US 31). Two more bridges are planned to be built as part of the Ohio River Bridges Project by 2020. One will parallel the Kennedy Bridge and the other will extend the Indiana and Kentucky segments of I-265 (via KY-841) to connect Utica, Indiana with Louisville's East end. Roads in southern Indiana branch out from the city originating from these bridges. I-71 branches out to the northeast from downtown Louisville toward Oldham County and Cincinnati.

Major roads extend outwards from the downtown area to all directions, like the spokes of a wheel. Many of these, such as Bardstown Road, are former privately owned turnpikes, which were made free roads by the city in 1901. Thus, as is typical of cities built on property organized by the Metes and bounds system, the old spoke roads extend relatively erratically from the city center, with turns and curves based on old geography and now-forgotten property ownership. In areas such as downtown, Old Louisville, and the West End, old turnpikes and roads were rebuilt to fit the grid, but in other areas, the spoke roads remained as the old farms they once served were developed. Where the spoke roads remained unaltered, smaller roads were built in between them as the farms were developed, either in a relatively gridiron style in older sections, or in curvilinear styles, often with many cul-de-sacs, in newer areas.

The fountain at St. James Court in Old Louisville

The city's architecture contains a blend of old and new. The Old Louisville neighborhood is the largest historic preservation district solely featuring Victorian homes and buildings in the United States, it is also the fourth largest such district overall. The Portland neighborhood is known for its "shotgun" style houses. The Louisville City Hall largely follows earlier architectural styles, mainly French Empire. The nearby Jefferson County Courthouse is an example of Greek Revival architecture. Likewise, many of the buildings downtown follow either the Greek Revival, Italian Renaissance or French Renaissance. These mix well with several of the city's post modern skyscrapers. The buildings of the West Main District in downtown Louisville boast the largest collection of cast iron facades of anywhere outside of New York's SoHo district.^[5]

Louisville has traditionally been divided up into three sides of town: the West End, the South End, and the East End. In 2003, Bill Dakan, a University of Louisville geography professor, said that the West End, west of 7th Street and north of Algonquin Parkway, is "a euphemism for the African-American part of town" although he points out that this belief is not entirely true, and most Africans Americans no longer live in areas where more than 80% of residents are black. Nevertheless, he says the perception is still strong.^[6] According to the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors, the lowest median home values are west of Interstate 65 in the West and South Ends, the middle range of home values are between Interstates 64 and 65 in the South and East Ends, and the highest median home values are north of Interstate 64 in the East End.^[7] Immigrants from Southeast Asia tend to settle in the South End, while immigrants from Eastern Europe settle in the East End.^[8]

There are also two areas which are sometimes considered to be their own side of town. The area east of I-65, south of Eastern Parkway, and west of Bardstown Road is economically, culturally and topographically a buffer zone between the East and South sides, and is routinely claimed by both residents and outsiders as belonging to either side.

The interior areas of the city's east and south ends are also sometimes considered by some to be their own side of town, sometimes called the "Inner East side". The area basically from Old Louisville, along Eastern Parkway to the The Highlands, and to the Butchertown and Clifton areas have seen an influx of young professionals in recent decades. These areas are home to mostly singles and non-families, are much more liberal than the rest of the city, and feature pedestrian-friendly shopping, with many eclectic shops. Most of these neighborhoods are either partly or entirely in historic preservation districts.

In a survey in 2005, Louisville was rated as the seventh safest large city in the United States (of cities that have a population of at least 500,000). ^[9]

[edit] Tallest buildings

See also the tallest buildings in downtown Louisville.

The five tallest buildings in Louisville are all in downtown.

Building	Height (feet)	Stories	Year Completed
AEGON Center	549	35	1993
National City Tower	512	40	1972
PNC Plaza	420	30	1972
Humana Building	417	27	1985
Waterfront Park Place	383	27	2003

Some notable tall buildings outside of the downtown area are 1400 Willow Avenue, a 21-story condominium complex near Cherokee Park completed in 1980; Baptist Towers, a 17-story retirement living community in Old Louisville; and the suburban office buildings Kaden Tower (15 stories, completed in 1966), Watterson Towers (16 stories, completed in 1972), and Hurstbourne Place (13 stories, completed in 1982).

[edit] Future development projects

View of Downtown Louisville with Hospital Curve in the foreground

Several important projects in the city are slated for completions in the late 2000s to about 2020.

[edit] Recreation infrastructure

The creation of a "ring of parks" will connect the waterfront, Levee Bike Trail, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing, Jefferson Memorial Forest and E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. It is currently under planning. Another recreational infrastructure project in planning will include the conversion of the former Big Four railroad bridge over the Ohio River into the second longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world. There are also plans to use the existing (but closed) vehicle lanes on the K and I railroad bridge over the Ohio River as a pedestrian sidewalk to connect Louisville's Riverwalk Trail to a planned seven mile greenway on the Indiana side which will connect New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville. Status: In planning.

[edit] Roadway infrastructure

The primary roadway project will be the controversial $3.9 billion Ohio River Bridges Project, which includes the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange, where Interstates 64, 65 and 71 meet. It also includes the construction of an I-265 eastern span and the dualization of the I-65 downtown span.

[edit] Urban infrastructure

Completion of the three-tower Louisville Museum Plaza, a 61-story commercial, residential, and museum tower between River Road, Main Street, 7th Street and 6th Streets. It will contain a one acre public "park" 22 stories from street level, and will ultimately replace the AEGON Center as Kentucky's tallest building. Status: In final planning stages, construction could begin in 2007.
RiverPark Place, a condominium development including a marina to be located east of Louisville Waterfront Park. Status: In final planning stages, construction to begin in Fall 2006 with Spring 2008 completion.
Mercantile Gallery Lofts, being constructed at East Market Street and Floyd Street, is a 47-unit four-building complex. Status: Under construction.
Park DuValle is a 1,000-unit project that is revitalizing an existing neighborhood by applying principles of new urbanism into its design. Park DuValle was formerly a massive public works housing project with barrack-styled housing that became essentially a warehouse for low-income residents. The new community is based on a mixed-income, mixed-use design that features pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, corner stores, large recreation and civic spaces, single-family homes, duplexes and small townhouse multi-family structures in period-style design. Status: Under construction/partially complete.
Norton Commons, located 20 minutes northeast of downtown near I-71 and I-265, is a mixed-use development based on new urbanism principles. It is currently under construction and will feature single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes, along with traditional looking storefronts, civic spaces and parks in a variety of period-inspired designs. Status: Under construction, initial phase partially complete.