Delaware Valley
| Delaware Valley | |
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| Country |  United States |
| State | -  Pennsylvania-  New Jersey-  Delaware-  Maryland |
| Principal cities | Philadelphia, Reading, Camden & Wilmington |
| Area | |
| - Metro | 13,256 km2 (5,118 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 - 366 m (0 - 12,000 ft) |
| Population (2006 est.)[1] | |
| - Density | 1,138/km2 (439/sq mi) |
| - Urban | 5,149,079(4th) |
| - MSA | 5,826,742 (5th) |
| - CSA | 6,398,896(8th) |
| MSA/CSA = 2008, Urban = 2000 | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | EST (UTC-5) |
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia in the United States. The term is derived from the Delaware River, which flows through the area. The federal Office of Management and Budget officially defines the region as the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.[2][3]
The Delaware Valley is composed of several counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, one county in northern Delaware and one county in northeastern Maryland. The area has a population of almost 6 million (as of the 2009 Census Bureau estimate). Philadelphia, being the region's major commercial, cultural, and industrial center, maintains a rather large sphere of influence that affects the counties that immediately surround it. The majority of the region's populace resides in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States[4] and is located towards the southern end of the Northeast megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D.C.
Based on commuter flows, the OMB also defines a wider labor market region known as the Philadelphia–Camden–Vineland Combined Statistical Area (CSA). This wider region adds the metropolitan areas of Vineland and Reading and has a total population of 6.38 million.
Philadelphia's media ranks fourth, behind New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in Nielsen Media Market size rankings.
Contents |
Character
Upper Darby, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, are some of the largest suburban edge cities. Upper Darby is itself the sixth largest community in the state. Philadelphia's suburbs contain a high concentration of malls, including the King of Prussia Mall, the largest on the East Coast, and the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey, the first enclosed mall on the East Coast. Malls, office complexes, strip shopping plazas, expressways, and tract housing are common sights, and more and more continue to replace rolling countryside, farms, woods, and wetlands. However, due to recent opposition by residents and political officials, many acres of land have been preserved throughout the Delaware Valley. Sprawling forests and farms can still be found throughout the region, providing a haven for pristine nature seekers. Older small towns and large boroughs such as Norristown, Jenkintown, Upper Darby and West Chester retain distinct community identities while engulfed in suburbia. The fastest-growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Gloucester. Upper Darby in Delaware County is the largest township in the United States, having both suburban and urban qualities, reaching from the upper middle class neighborhoods of Drexel Hill to the twisting and turning of row homes and alley ways in the working class neighborhoods of Stonehurst Hills.
The region also has a large and growing ethnic population, thanks to job growth and proximity to major cities other than Philadelphia, such as New York City (90 miles or a 1.5 hour trip away) and Washington D.C (140 miles and about a 2.5 hour trip away).
The Delaware Valley is home to extensive populations of African Americans (over 40% of Philadelphia's residents are black), Europeans (the majority of residents are white European of German, Irish, Italian and Polish descent), Asians such as Chinese, Indian, Korean and Vietnamese, Arabs and Turks, Indians and Pakistanis, Israelis (while American Jews form a significant ethno-religious community), Hispanics with the largest nationalities being Mexican (the area's fastest growing ethnic group in the 1990s and 2000s) and Salvadoran, West Indians and Puerto Ricans, and even a small Native American community known as Lenapehoking for Lenni-Lenape Indians of West Philadelphia.
Along with their immigrant counterparts, the area sees revived internal migration. Once sending more people out then receiving, the Valley has now turned that around. This is most notable of the city of Philadelphia, which has been struggling with population decline since the 1950s. The city is projected to begin increasing in population shortly before or after the year 2010. The core suburban counties have never had a difficult time achieving this, with most gaining the bulk of their populations in the last few decades.
Counties making up the Delaware Valley
Delaware
Maryland
New Jersey
- Burlington County
- Camden County
- Cumberland County (Vineland Metropolitan Area, in the CSA not in the MSA [5] )
- Gloucester County
- Salem County
Atlantic County, New Jersey and Cape May County, New Jersey are also associated with the Delaware Valley. While home to Philadelphia commuters, these counties are also home to an extensive tourism industry. The most notable of these tourist towns is Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Ocean County, New Jersey, while officially designated as part of the New York Metropolitan Area, is strongly affiliated with the Delaware Valley. Ocean County is home to many tourist attractions frequently visited by Delaware Valley residents. These attractions include a myriad of beaches such as Long Beach Island and Seaside Heights, along with resorts such as Island Beach State Park and Six Flags Great Adventure. It should also be noted that the Jersey Shore, of which Ocean County is a central part, is a major destination for beach tourism for Delaware Valley residents, as there are no other beaches closer than those of the Jersey Shore.[6] By contrast, New York area residents, especially those who do not live in New Jersey, have alternative options on Long Island or in Connecticut.[7][8]
Mercer County, New Jersey, while part of the New York Metropolitan Area, has traditionally also been affiliated with the Delaware Valley. Mercer County, a relatively wealthy county located on the northern fringe of the Delaware Valley MSA, is home to both New York and Philadelphia commuters. In recent years, however, growing numbers of New York commuters have migrated into Mercer. The two main towns in Mercer County are Princeton, located in the northern part of the county, and Trenton, located in the southern part of the county. Princeton identifies with New York because it is home to many New York commuters who began migrating into the area after World War II.[9] Furthermore, the commute time from Princeton to New York by train is much shorter than the commute time from Princeton to Philadelphia. Trenton, New Jersey's capital, is fittingly considered the meeting point between New York and Philadelphia. For example, the commute times from Trenton to New York and Trenton to Philadelphia by train are roughly the same. Trenton is also its own metropolitan region, called the Trenton-Ewing MSA.[10]
Pennsylvania
- Berks County (Reading metropolitan area, in the CSA, not the MSA [5] )
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Delaware County
- Montgomery County
- Philadelphia County
Principal cities
The following metropolitan areas (MSAs) are included in the Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The principal cities in each MSA are as follows: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)[5]
Reading Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
- Bridgeton, New Jersey
- Millville, New Jersey
- Vineland, New Jersey
Transportation
Many residents commute to jobs in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington 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.
Commuter rail
- SEPTA Regional Rail
- Airport Line connecting Central Philadelphia with Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties.
- Wilmington/Newark Line connecting the Wilmington, DE area (with limited weekday service to Newark, DE), via Chester City and Delaware County.
- Warminster Line serving southeastern Montgomery County.
- West Trenton Line connecting Central Philadelphia northern to the Trenton, NJ area, serving Bucks County, PA between Jenkintown, PA and Yardley, PA, with the final stop in Ewing, NJ.
- Media/Elwyn Line connecting Philadelphia to central Delaware County.
- Paoli/Thorndale Line connecting Philadelphia with the affluent Main Line area and western Chester County near Coatesville.
- Lansdale/Doylestown Line connecting Philadelphia with Lansdale in central Montgomery County and Doylestown in Bucks County.
- Manayunk/Norristown Line connecting Philadelphia with Conshohocken and Norristown in Montgomery County.
- Cynwyd Line connecting Philadelphia with Bala Cynwyd on the Philadelphia/Montgomery County line (limited weekday service)
- Trenton Line connecting Philadelphia to the Trenton, NJ, serving Bucks County.
- Fox Chase Line connecting Central Philadelphia with Fox Chase area in Philadelphia.
- Chestnut Hill East Line and Chestnut Hill West Line connecting Central Philadelphia with Chestnut Hill area of the city.
- 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.
- MARC
- Penn Line connecting Perryville, MD to Baltimore, MD and Washington D.C., and in the future will connect to SEPTA at Newark, DE.
- PATCO Speedline connecting Philadelphia to Lindenwold, NJ in Camden County with connections to NJT's Atlantic City Line.
Major highways
- Interstate 95
- Interstate 76
- Interstate 176
- Interstate 476
- Interstate 676
- Interstate 295 (Delaware and 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 322
- U.S. Route 422
- Del. Route 1 Turnpike
- N.J. Route 42/Atlantic City Expressway
- N.J. Route 55
Airports
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE)
- New Castle Airport (ILG)
- Reading Regional Airport (RDG)
- Atlantic City International Airport (ACY)
Colleges and universities
Delaware
- University of Delaware
- Goldey-Beacom College
- Widener University School of Law
- Wilmington University
New Jersey
- University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (Branch campuses in South Jersey)
- Rowan University
- Rutgers University (Camden)
- Rutgers School of Law - Camden
- The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Pennsylvania
- Albright College
- Arcadia University
- University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
- Bryn Mawr College
- Cabrini College
- Curtis Institute of Music
- Chestnut Hill College
- Cheyney University
- Delaware Valley College
- DeVry University
- Drexel University
- Eastern University
- Gwynedd-Mercy College
- Harcum College
- Haverford College
- Holy Family University
- Immaculata University
- Thomas Jefferson University
- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
- La Salle University
- Lincoln University
- Manor College
- Moore College of Art and Design
- Neumann University
- Peirce College
- University of Pennsylvania
- Penn State Abington
- Penn State Berks
- Penn State Brandywine
- Penn State Great Valley
- Philadelphia University
- Philadelphia Biblical University
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Rosemont College
- Saint Joseph's University
- University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
- Swarthmore College
- Temple University
- Ursinus College
- Valley Forge Military Academy and College
- Valley Forge Christian College
- Villanova University
- West Chester University
- Westminster Theological Seminary
- Widener University
Lexicon note
Some believe that the term "Delaware Valley" is not entirely a synonym for "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 does not 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 that Philadelphia is the center of the region, referring to the less urbanized areas as "Philadelphia's countryside".[11] Others note that the customary media usage of the term omits the majority of the length of the Delaware River's valley that is not in metropolitan Philadelphia.
WPVI-TV uses the slogan, "The Delaware Valley's leading news program" for their Action News broadcast, since that program has led the ratings for news programs in the Philadelphia market for over 30 years.
The Delaware Valley is also sometimes called "the Tri-State area," referring to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
There is debate regarding whether the neighboring Lehigh Valley should be considered of part of the Greater Delaware Valley area, as it is part of the same media market. If so, it would increase the size of the Delaware Valley by approximately 790,000 people. A similar debate is starting to grow regarding the metro areas of cities like Lancaster and York that are located only 80 miles (130 km) from Philadelphia, are also regarded as being a part of the same media market and heavily rely on the city's services and utilities.
References
- ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008". US Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/metro/CBSA-est2008-annual.html. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
- ↑ "Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Economy at a Glance". Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 22, 2009. http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.pa_philadelphia_msa.htm. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ↑ "Selected BLS Economic Indicators". Bureau of Labor Statistics. December 23, 2009. http://www.bls.gov/ro3/philadelphiamsa.pdf. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ↑ Rankings for Metropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 OMB BULLETIN NO. 09-01
- ↑ Shore Guide - philly.com
- ↑ Fireisland.com - Fire Island, New York Travel Guide
- ↑ Connecticut: Beaches: Beaches in Fairfield County, CT
- ↑ http://www.princetontwp.org/histofpt.html Housing development boomed as postwar employment expanded in Princeton and nearby communities and as commuting to New York became more affordable and practical.
- ↑ Trenton-Ewing MSA
- ↑ Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation.
External links
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
- Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
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