New York!

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do. Now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you. Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York. One hand in the air for the big city. Street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty. No place in the world that can compare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Future of New York City

In 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that planners expected New York City's population to increase by 1 million people in 25 years. Since then the city has had many initiatives to try and prepare for the expected population growth. About 3 million people of the cities 8.4 million population are foreign born. Whites make up a little more than 30 percent of the New York City population. For the first time in half a century, New York was losing fewer people than it was taking in. This is because there is a constant stream of immigrants searching for opportunity there, while there is also a reduction in the number of native New Yorkers leaving town.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New York has done everything it can to move on from the horrific events. New Yorkers worked together to clean the city of debris, build a new world trade center, and a memorial site for the 9/11 events. New Yorkers are a strong bunch of people, and it is great to see how they have recovered and moved on from 9/11, but will never forget what happened. 10 years later, on September 11, 2011 the 9/11 memorial site was dedicated. Then on September 12, 2011 it opened to the public.

Hawai'i

Just like Hawai'i is a group of islands, so is New York City. In Hawai'i there are eight main islands; Hawai'i (the big island), Maui, Kaho'olawe, Lana'i, Moloka'i, O'ahu, Kaua'i, and Ni'ihau. New York City is split up into five boroughs; Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Manhattan is it's own individual island, along with Staten Island. While Brooklyn and Queens is connected to Long Island. Then the Bronx is connected to upstate New York. With both of these locations being surrounded by water, it makes for easy flooding when the weather gets bad. In Hawai'i, they have had to face many tsunamis. In fact, since the early 1800s Hawai'i has already had about 50 tsunamis. In New York City, they often have to deal with Hurricanes. These strong winds and downpour lead to flooding, especially parts of lower Manhattan and Staten Island.

The Pacific Northwest

When comparing The Pacific Northwest with New York City, I would like to narrow in on one particular city in that region. At first glance, you may never think to compare New York City with Seattle, but the two cities do have several similarities. First, I will start with a minor detail, which is both cities have a lot of nature in and around it. I love that even though New York is so built up and impacted, you will still find beautiful parks, and tree lined streets. It is very green, just like Seattle. Both cities are also surrounded by water, and are big harbor cities. In Seattle, you have the Puget sound and in New York you have the Long Island Sound. With both cities being on the water, they both have a lot of fishing done in the area. Often times, these people who fish sell their goods, along with other organically grown goods, at farmers markets. Both Seattle and New York City are big on farmers markets. In Seattle, there is the well known Pike Place Market, which is open daily. In New York City, Union Square Greenmarket attracts 60,000 shoppers daily.

California

Before the 1840's, most of the United States population lived in New York City and the areas around it. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the news spread to every corner of the nation. Many people began to leave New York City and migrate out west. In just one year, 40,000 newcomers had arrived in hopes of striking big and finding gold.

In California you will find the nations second most populated city, right behind New York, which is Los Angeles. I always find people comparing the two cities, like there is a secret rivalry between them. In some scenes, such as the hip hop music scene, there is a not so secret rivalry between the two. Both cities have a lot going on and a lot to offer its residents and visitors. While LA and NY have some similarities, I'd say they are mostly quite opposite from each other. Los Angeles is known for its sunny weather, laid back atmosphere, spread out city, mostly centered around the movie industry. While New York has all four seasons, is very fast pace and business orientated, and it's very tightly squeezed together. The nations two most well known cities attract tourists from all over the world. Both cities are very fashion savvy, yet have very different styles. Here is a video of Whitney Port (fashion designer) comparing the two cities.

MexAmerica

Native Americans lived in the MexAmerica region for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. The Spanish invaded the area, which then lead to Native Americans being displaced. This led to a lot of bad blood between the Native Americans and Europeans. The Spanish began to settle down making ranches and small towns. In New York City, the Dutch purchased the land from the Native Americans, and they began to build what was called New Amsterdam. When the Europeans came over to America, they brought over diseases, which caused many Native Americans to decease. Both New York City and MexAmerica were first occupied by Native Americans, and both regions were invaded by Europeans and were mistreating the native people.

The Intermontane West

In the Intermontane West is the well known city of Las Vegas. The city is located in the southern tip of Nevada, in the southern part of the region. Las Vegas and New York City has many similarities. Both cities being very well populated and attracts a multitude of tourists every year. In New York you can go to the famous Broadway shows, and in Las Vegas they also have shows, such as Cirque De Soleil, magic shows, blue man group, etc. Both cities have fancy hotels all over the place to house those many tourists that come to visit. Ironically enough, Las Vegas even has a hotel named New York New York, with miniature versions of all the iconic landmarks in New York City.

The Rocky Mountain Region

In the early 1800's, many Europeans were leaving New York City, and the Northeast, to travel out to the Rocky Mountain region. When the Northeast started running low on the supply of beavers, fur trappers headed out west because of the high demand of beaver hats.


Both New York City and the Rocky Mountains attract many tourists. While people generally travel to the Rockies to escape the busy life, and enjoy nature. Others travel to New York to see all the attractions, lights, buildings, and experience all the fun things the city has to offer. The Rockies have many recreational activities available, from skiing, camping, hunting, fishing, boating, etc. The world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park, is also located in the Rockies. People who travel to New York get to have a much different experience than if they travel to the Rockies. In "the city that never sleeps" there are an abundant amount of activities for people to do. From Broadway, to Central park, clubs to restaurants, most of all never ending sightseeing available.
 

 
The Rockies also has quite an urban growth going on as of recently. With Calgary and Alberta in Canada, and Denver and Cheyenne in the United States, people can experience the city life in this region as well. Denver's metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million people, and is becoming more and more popular with each passing day. While New York City is the most populated city in the United States, and Denver is ranked 23rd most populated in USA. That may seem like a big difference, but Denver has a 3.30% positive change in population, while many of the cities between the two have a much lower population change.

The Great Plains

The Great Plains and New York City have similar climate and both can face some extreme weather hazards. In the Great Plains, there climate consists of hot summers and very cold winters. The temperature change is quite drastic. New York City also experience cold winters and hot summers, both areas getting a significant amount of snow. Although, the Great Plains is relatively dry and New York City gets humidity. Both regions face some pretty scary hazards. The Great Plains is the well known tornado region. Northern Texas across Oklahoma into Kansas is called Tornado Alley. These tornados cause extensions property damage, along with occasional loss of life. In New York City, they often get hurricanes and blizzards. Hurricanes have caused a lot of property damage, with their strong winds and flooding. Both blizzards and hurricanes can lead to loss of life.

New York New York!!

The Coastal South

Both New York City and the Coastal South draw in many tourists every year. The Coastal South has exciting locations such as New Orleans, beaches along the coasts of the Carolinas, and Florida. Florida in itself is a very popular tourist spot, with Orlando and its famous theme parks (Disneyworld, Universal Studies, and SeaWorld), and Miami. Just like we have discussed previously, New York City attracts millions of tourists every year. There are endless amounts of things to see and experience while visiting New York City.

New York City's Times Square is the location for the New Years Eve ball drop. Hundreds of thousands of people gather here every new years eve to celebrate the coming of the new year. On December 31, 1999, on the welcoming of the new millennium, it was recorded that 2 million people filled the Times Square area. Another popular celebration happens in New Orleans, Louisiana, called Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras ( French for "fat Tuesday") is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, before Lent begins. What started out as a religious tradition, has turned into quite the party, where people dress up, get drunk, and throw beaded necklaces at others.

The Inland South

Nashville, Tennessee is known as, "the music city," and "the country music capitol of the world." Some of the greatest country musicians have originated here. Nashville is home to the Grand Ole Opry, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world, and is considered an American icon. Similar to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, New York City is well known for its spectacular Broadway shows. There are 40 professional theatres located in the Theatre District on Broadway St in Manhattan. Broadway theatres are a very popular tourist attraction, and in 2012 alone, sold $1.081 billion worth in tickets.

The Great Lakes and Corn Belt

While New York City has been the worlds leading financial center, the Corn Belt has been one of the most productive farming areas in the world. Making both of these areas very important to our country. We can thank New York City's great location and harbor for its growth and success. The Corn Belt is also located in a great area, with its fertile soils, adequate water availability, and excellent transportation. This area of the country also has several big cities similar to New York City and the Megalopolis region, such as Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

Megalopolis

New York City is located in the Megalopolis region of the United States. Along with New York City, Megalopolis includes Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. In 1961, geographer Jean Gottmann coined the term Megalopolis, to describe the densely populated area of northeastern United States. Megalopolis is the most densely populated part of North America. This area is also known for its cultural and ethnic diversity. For more than 200 years, immigrants have flocked to Megalopolis in search of economic opportunity and political freedom.

Fun Facts:
Boston - In 1897, Boston built the first subway ever in the United States.
New York - Gennaro Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in NYC in 1895.
Philadelphia - Benjamin Franklin founded the first zoo in America, The Philadelphia Zoo.
Baltimore - The first dental school in the world was founded in Baltimore in 1840.
Washington DC - More wine is consumed per person in Washington DC than any state in the US.

 

The Atlantic Periphery

Weather

The Atlantic Periphery is known for having its four seasons. The harsh snowy winters, the colorful flowers blooming in spring, the summer full of green trees, and the changing colors of the trees in autumn. New York City also has these four seasons. Even though the city is very built up, there are still many parks and trees around to show the nature changing due to the seasons. One of the prettiest sites to see is Central Park during an Autumn day.

Tourism

The Atlantic Periphery gets many tourists every year who are attracted to the beautiful scenery and recreation activities this area offers. People travel to the Atlantic Periphery during winter for their excellent ski resorts, during Autumn to see the beautiful fall foliage, and in summer for hiking, camping and fishing.  Many residents of the Megalopolis area own vacation houses up north, because it's a beautiful place to vacation, and the cost of houses is generally cheaper. New York City gets 50 million tourists every year, because of it's landmarks and things to do.

 

The Economy

New York City is a global hub of international business and commerce. It is also one of three "command centers" for the world economy. The city is a major center for banking and finance, world trade, transportation, tourism, and media. In 2010, the New York metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of approximately $1.28 trillion, making it the largest regional economy in the United States. On top of that, by the end of 2008, New York controlled 40% of the worlds finances, making it the largest financial center in the world. Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the United States. Wall Street is located in Lower Manhattan, which is the 3rd largest central business district in the United States, and is home to the New York Stock Exchange.

Historical Settlement

Before Europeans came to New York City, the land was occupied by Algonquin Indian tribes, such as the Lenape. The first documented visit by a European was by Giovanni Da Verrazzano in 1524. In 1609, Hendry Hudson was working for the Dutch East India company and re-discovered the region as he sailed his ship into the New York Harbor. The Dutch settled in the area in 1624 naming it New Amsterdam, and in 1664 the British gained power and renamed the area to New York City. For the next century, NYC gained immigrants from France, Germany, England, and The Netherlands. During the 1840's-1850's immigrants were coming in from Ireland, Italy, and other countries in southern and eastern Europe. In 1895, the residents of the 5 boroughs decided to consolidate to become a greater New York City. Today, New York City has over 8 million residents coming from many different backgrounds, making it a very diverse city.

Environmental Setting

Weather & Climate

New York City has a humid subtropical climate, and very close to a humid continental climate. The city averages 234 days of some sunshine annually. The winters are cold and damp. Spring and Autumn can be unpredictable, with the weather ranging from warm to chilly. Summers are usually hot and humid. The city gets 49.7 inches of precipitation annually, which is spread out throughout the year.
Some weather hazards New York City faces include, winter snow storms and hurricanes. Average snow fall in the city is 26.7 inches annually, but it can get hit hard with blizzards. The New York City Blizzard of 2006 covered the city in 26.9 inches of snow, which became the greatest snowfall the city has ever seen. These blizzards can shut down highways and airports, and cause power outages which can be very dangerous in such cold temperatures. Hurricanes have been known to hit New York City pretty hard also, causing flooding, power outages, and damage to building from high winds.

Environmental Issues

New York City faces some environmental issues due to its great population density. Some of these issues include air pollution, garbage disposal, lead paint in older houses, and one of the countries worst oil spills still seeps into the cities waterways. Surprisingly, with all that being said, New York City is one of only five cities in the United States with water pure enough to only require chlorination to ensure its purity.

Introduction

New York City, in my opinion, is the greatest city in the United States and maybe even in the world. There is no other place quite like it. With a nickname like, "The city that never sleeps," there may be a lot of expectations to uphold. New York city not only meets those expectations but exceeds them. You will never run out of things to do in New York.

New York City is split up into 5 boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. All those boroughs add up to make a land area of 302.64 square miles. It is the most populous city in the United States, with 8,244,910 people. And as many as 800 languages are spoken there, which makes it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.

There are many landmarks in New York City, that attract 50 million tourists every year. Times Square, where you see the ball drop every New Years Eve, is the brightly lit up center for all those famous Broadway Theatre shows. Times Square is also a major center for world's entertainment industry. In New York City you will also find endless amounts of iconic skyscrapers and bridges. The Brooklyn Bridge, is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, completed in 1883. It is known for its beautiful architecture, unlike any other bridge here in the United States. Then there is the Empire State Building, a 102 story skyscraper located in midtown Manhattan. The beautiful Central Park, located right in the middle of Manhattan. It is easy to forget you are in a big city, while walking around Central Park, with its lakes, trails, parks, and even a zoo. Finally, lets not forget the Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It is our reminder of how lucky we are to live in a country where we have freedom.