Delaware Valley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Common name: Delaware Valley |
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| Largest city Other cities |
Philadelphia Camden & Wilmington |
| Population | Ranked 4th in the U.S. |
| - Total | 5,951,797 (2004 est.) |
| - Density | 1,163 /sq. mi. 449 /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, also known as the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area, is named for the Delaware River which flows through the region.
The Delaware Valley is composed of several counties in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and contains a population of 5,951,797 (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.
The Delaware Valley lost population in the seventies, but went on a rebound from the eighties 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, which is faster than the national average. The area boasts safe, prospering suburbs and cities, cleaner air than most metropolitan areas, and cultural and ethnic enclaves. The area boasts a large influx of foreign born residents, hailing from many countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
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.
The area has extensive suburban sprawl. King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey are two of the largest suburban edge cities. 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 officals, 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. Also, many of the counties outside the metropolitan area, are also experiencing rapid growth, such as Lancaster County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, and Berks County. Also, South Jersey is experiencing faster growth than the rest of the state.
The Delaware Valley is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States (and the sixth largest combined statistical area, closely trailing the San Francisco Bay Area), 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.
The term "Delaware Valley" is subtely 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.
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[edit] Counties making up the Delaware Valley
[edit] Delaware
[edit] Maryland
[edit] New Jersey
- Burlington County
- Camden County
- Mercer County (unoffically – see note below)
- Cumberland County
- Gloucester County (Vineland metropolitan area)
- Salem County
NOTE: The 2000 U.S. Census amended previous estimates (based on commuting patterns) of Mercer County, New Jersey and the city of Trenton, moving the county from the Philadelphia metropolitan area to the New York metropolitan area; however, in geographic terms, Mercer County is still considered part of the Delaware Valley.
[edit] Pennsylvania
- Berks County (Reading metropolitan area) (added by the Census Bureau in 2005[1])
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Delaware County
- Montgomery County
- Philadelphia County
[edit] Primary Cities
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Camden, New Jersey
- Reading, Pennsylvania (added by the Census Bureau in 2005[2])
- Trenton, New Jersey (unoffically- see note below)
- Vineland, New Jersey
- Wilmington, Delaware
NOTE: Mercer County and Trenton, NJ are in the New York Metropolitan Area but geographically are part of the Delaware Valley.
[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. Cenusu 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.
[edit] Delaware
[edit] New Jersey
- Atlantic County
- Cape May County
- Monmouth County (part of the New York Metropolitan Area)
- Ocean County (part of the New York Metropolitan Area)
[edit] Pennsylvania
[edit] Transportation
[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
- Northeast Corridor Line connecting Trenton, NJ, via SEPTA's R7 Trenton service to New York City.
- 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)
- Delaware Turnpike
- New Jersey Turnpike
- Pennsylvania Turnpike
- U.S. Route 1
- U.S. Route 9
- U.S. Route 30
- U.S. Route 130
- U.S. Route 202
- 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] References
[edit] External links
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Delaware Riverkeeper Network
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State of New Jersey
|
|---|---|
| Capital | Trenton |
| Regions | Central Jersey | Delaware Valley | Jersey Shore | Meadowlands | North Jersey | Pine Barrens | South Jersey | New York metro area | Tri-State Region |
| Cities | Atlantic City | Bayonne | Camden | Clifton | East Orange | Elizabeth | Hackensack | Hoboken | Jersey City | Linden | Long Branch | New Brunswick | Newark | Passaic | Paterson | Perth Amboy | Plainfield | Princeton | Toms River | Trenton | Union City | Vineland | In addition to the major cities listed, All Municipalities (by Population) |
| Counties | Atlantic | Bergen | Burlington | Camden | Cape May | Cumberland | Essex | Gloucester | Hudson | Hunterdon | Mercer | Middlesex | Monmouth | Morris | Ocean | Passaic | Salem | Somerset | Sussex | Union | Warren |
 |
State of Maryland |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Cities | Government | History | U.S. Senators and Representatives |
| Capital | |
| Regions |
Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley | Eastern Shore | Southern | Western |
| Cities | Baltimore | Bethesda | Bowie | College Park | Columbia | Cumberland | Frederick | Gaithersburg | Germantown | Greenbelt | Hagerstown | Laurel | Rockville | Salisbury | Silver Spring | Takoma Park | Towson | Waldorf |
| Counties |
Allegany | Anne Arundel | Baltimore City | Baltimore County | Calvert | Caroline | Carroll | Cecil | Charles | Dorchester | Frederick | Garrett | Harford | Howard | Kent | Montgomery | Prince George's | Queen Anne's | St. Mary's | Somerset | Talbot | Washington | Wicomico | Worcester |
