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Raleigh, North Carolina

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Raleigh
Flag of Raleigh
Flag
Official seal of Raleigh
Seal
Nickname: 
City of Oaks
Motto: 
You Can See the Whole State from Here
Map of Wake County, North Carolina
Map of Wake County, North Carolina
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina
CountyWake County
Founded1792
Government
 • MayorCharles Meeker (D)
Elevation
434 ft (132 m)
Population
 (2006)
 • City353,604
 • Metro
1,509,560
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Standard)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight)
WebsiteCity of Raleigh
"Raleigh" redirects here. For other uses of this name, see Raleigh (disambiguation).

Raleigh (IPA: ['ɹa li], rälē or rah-lee) is the capital of the State of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 276,093, making it the second most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill make up the three cities of The Triangle, so named in 1959 with the creation of the Research Triangle Park, a research park between Durham and Raleigh (mostly located within Durham County). The Triangle is equivalent to the U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. Its estimated total population as of 2005 was 1,509,560. The estimated Raleigh-Cary metropolitan statistical area population, as of 2004, is 914,680.

The City of Raleigh estimates its population to be 353,604 as of July 1, 2006, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. Raleigh placed fourth on MONEY Magazine's 2006 list of Best Big Cities.[1]

History

Raleigh was selected as the site of a new state capital in 1788 and established in 1792 as both the new county seat and the new state capital. It was named in November 1792 for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the Colony of Roanoke, which was also known as the "Lost Colony" (today, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site).

The site was chosen as being within ten miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which was apparently popular with the legislators of the time. No city or town existed on the site before it was chosen to house the capital. Raleigh is one of the few cities in the U.S. planned and built specifically to serve as a state capital.

The North Carolina General Assembly first met in Raleigh in December 1794, and within one month, the legislature officially granted the city a charter, with a board of seven appointed commissioners (starting in 1803, elected by the people) and an "Intendant of Police" (what would later be called "Mayor") to govern it.[2] John Haywood was the first Intendant of Police.[3]

Despite being spared destruction in the Civil War, Raleigh grew very little from its original 1792 size until the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1920's, the establishment of the Research Triangle Park in the 1950's, and a freeway known as the Beltline (I-440/US-1/US-64) in the 1960's.


Downtown Raleigh panorama, from 1909

Law and government

File:Capitol in Raleigh, NC.jpg
The state capitol in Raleigh

Raleigh has operated under a council-manager government since 1947. The city council consists of eight members; all seats, including the mayor's, come up for election every two years. The current and 7 council members (5 district representatives and 2 at large).

City council

See also: List of mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina

Crime

In 2004 only 16 murders or non-negligent manslaughters were reported within city limits, per the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports. In 2005, Raleigh's murder total grew to 21. Although the homicide rate is low for a city with 350,000 people, most of the homicides happen in the same general area of the city, making certain neighborhoods quite dangerous.

Raleigh has 469.2 motor vehicle thefts per year per 100,000 residents. The average for metro areas in North Carolina is 528.4 motor vehicle thefts per year per 100,000 residents.

According the FBI's Crime in the US 2004, there were 99 forcible rapes, 661 robberies, 1,091 aggravated assaults, and 12,126 incidents of property crime.

According to the Uniform Crime Reports, crime in Raleigh has been steadily decreasing, as has the trend been nationally. In 2004, there were 580 violent crimes and 3768 property crimes reported per 100,000 population. Nationally there were 466 violent crimes and 3517 property crimes reported per 100,000 population. However, it can be difficult to compare local averages to a national number as a number of urbanization levels are present across the nation. Cities with between 250,000 and 500,000 population reported 978 violent crimes and 5631 property crimes per 100,000 population, well above Raleigh's reported crimes.

In 2004 and 2003, Raleigh has posted a 10% and 6%, respectively, decrease in violent crime per 100,000 population and a 21% and 14% decrease in property crime. Nationally a drop of 2% and 4% were registered for violent crime and 2% and 1% for property crime. The drop for cities between 250,000 and 500,000 population is not able to be measured yet as 2004 was the first year that the Uniform Crime Report broke data down into city size categories.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 299.3 km² (115.6 mi²). 296.8 km² (114.6 mi²) of it is land and 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²) of it (0.84%) is water.

Raleigh falls in the northeast central region of the state, where the piedmont and the coastal plains regions meet. Its central Piedmont location makes it a 3-hour drive west of Atlantic Beach and 6 hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains. The city is 135 miles from Richmond, Virginia, 232 from Washington, D.C., 143 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina, 78 miles from Greensboro, North Carolina, 59 miles from Fayetteville, North Carolina, 47 miles from Wilson, North Carolina, 123 miles from Wilmington, North Carolina, 380 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 450 miles from New York, New York, 400 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, 250 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, and 230 miles from Greenville, South Carolina.

Climate

Raleigh has a moderate climate during spring, fall, and winter. Summers are hot and humid. Winter temperatures range from highs in the low 50s°F (10-13°C) to lows in the upper 20s-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2°C). Spring and fall days are usually in the low to mid 70s°F (low 20s°C) with nights in the 50s°F (10-14°C). Summer days are often in the upper 80s and low 90s °F (30-35°C) with high humidity. The rainiest months are July and August. Light to moderate snow is occasional, and it can occur in January and February.

Template:Raleigh climatebox

Cityscape

Cities that are considered Raleigh suburbs are cities that are part of the Triangle metropolitan area. Greater Raleigh consists of all Raleigh neighborhoods outside of downtown, and the surrounding Triangle cities.

Raleigh is divided into at least five subdivisions, each of the subdivisions use the Raleigh address and postcode, starting with 276. Old Raleigh ("inside the beltline") is home to many 20th-century neighborhoods, the City Market, Fayetteville Street Mall (re-opened as a thoroughfare in mid-2006), North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State Capitol, Peace College, Raleigh City Museum, Raleigh Convention and Conference Center, Shaw University, Meredith College, and Saint Augustine's College. The neighborhoods in Old Raleigh include Boylan Heights, Country Club Hills, Five Points, Glenwood, Brooklyn, Hayes Barton, Moore Square, Mordecai, and Oakwood.

East Raleigh is along Capital Boulevard near the I-440 beltline to New Hope Road. Most of East Raleigh's development is along established corridors such as US 1 (Capital Blvd), Business US 64 (New Bern Ave), Poole Rd, Buffaloe Rd, and New Hope Rd. Enloe High School and Southeast Raleigh High School are both in this area. It is bordered to the east by the town of Knightdale.

West Raleigh is near Hillsborough Street and Western Boulevard. The area is bordered to the west by the town of Cary. It is home to the North Carolina State University campus, Pullen Park, and Cameron Village. Also in West Raleigh are Avent Ferry Road, Blue Ridge Road, Lake Johnson, Raleigh Little Theatre, Theatre in the Park, St. Mary's School, and Municipal Rose Garden.

North Raleigh ("outside the beltline") is a large area containing several large and established neighborhoods, as well as quickly developing rural areas. Recently, the area that is considered true North Raleigh begins near the corner of Six Forks and Wake Forest Roads and is bounded by Capital Boulevard (U.S. 1) to the east and Falls Lake to the north.

North Raleigh is the location of most of Raleigh's shopping malls: Crabtree Valley Mall, Triangle Town Center, North Hills, and Brier Creek. Also located in North Raleigh are greenway trails Shelley Lake, Lake Lynn, and Lake Crabtree.

Neighborhoods and communities in North Raleigh include:

South Raleigh is along U.S. 401 South toward Fuquay-Varina and US 70 into Garner. This is the least developed and least dense area of Raleigh, and is home to the last gristmill in Wake County, Yates Mill. It is bordered to the west by Cary, to the east by Garner, and to the southwest by Holly Springs.

  • Lake Wheeler
  • Penny Road

Economy

Raleigh's industries include electrical, medical, electronic, telecommunications equipment, clothing apparel, food processing, paper products, and pharmaceuticals. Raleigh is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, a center of researching and textiles. The city is a major retail shipping point for eastern North Carolina and a wholesale distributing point for food stores.

The following companies are based in or operated in Raleigh:

Demographics

Historical populations
Census
year		 Population
1800 699
1900 13,643
1910 19,218
1920 24,418
1930 37,379
1940 46,879
1950 65,679
1960 93,931
1970 122,830
1980 150,255
1990 212,092
2000 276,093
2005 335,512
2006 353,604

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 276,093 people, 112,608 households, and 61,371 families residing in the city. The population density was 930.2/km² (2,409.2/mi²). There were 120,699 housing units at an average density of 406.7/km² (1,053.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.31% White, 27.80% African American, 0.36% Native American, 3.38% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.24% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.99% of the population. The Hispanic population continues to grow due to a large illegal alien influx.

There were 112,608 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 15.9% from 18 to 24, 36.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,612, and the median income for a family was $60,003. Males had a median income of $39,248 versus $30,656 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,113. 11.5% of the population and 7.1% of families were below the poverty line. Approximately one out of four (25.5%) Raleigh citizens are beneath 200% of the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. The fourth largest Mexican American community is embedded in the Downtown Raleigh area. Many Mexican music festivals take place in the summer time, in Raleigh.


Education

Higher education

Public education

Public education in Raleigh is provided by the Wake County Public School System. Raleigh is home to 77 schools in that system (48 elementary, 15 middle, and 9 high schools. Raleigh is also home to 5 other special public schools.

Charter schools

The State of North Carolina also provides for a certain number of charter schools. These schools are administered separately from the Wake County Public School System. Raleigh has 10 charter schools:

Private education

Culture

Performance

The Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek hosts major touring popular musical acts. The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts encompasses the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the Fletcher Opera Theater, the Kennedy Theatre, and the Meymandi Concert Hall. During the NC State Fair, Dorton Arena, itself an architectural wonder when constructed, hosts headline acts.

Raleigh is the home of several professional arts organizations, including the North Carolina Symphony, the Opera Company of North Carolina, and Carolina Ballet. The numerous local colleges and universities significantly add to the options available for viewing live performance.

Art

The NC Museum of Art, occupying a large suburban campus on Blue Ridge Road, near the State Fairgrounds, houses arguably the premier public art collection between Washington and Atlanta. In addition to fine collections of American, European, and ancient art, the museum has hosted major exhibitions featuring Rodin (2000) and Monet (2006-2007), attracting over 100,000 visitors each. Unlike many prominent museums, the NC Museum of Art received a large number of the works in its permanent collection through purchases with public funds.


Sports

Professional

The NHL Carolina Hurricanes franchise moved to Raleigh in 1997 from Hartford, Connecticut (where it was known as the Hartford Whalers), although the first two seasons were played in Greensboro, North Carolina, as the stadium built for the Hurricanes, the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena, now known as the RBC Center, took two years to be built. It is the only major professional sports team in the area. The Hurricanes are the only top league professional sports team in North Carolina to have won a championship, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. The city also has an AIFL team, the Raleigh Rebels. Before the Carolina Hurricanes, several other professional sports leagues have had failed franchises in Raleigh including the American Basketball Association, the Arena Football League, the World League of American Football, the United States Basketball League with the Raleigh Cougars, and the Women's United Soccer Association (in nearby Cary). The Carolina Railhawks of the United Soccer Leagues will begin play in 2007 in Cary.

File:Rbccenter.jpg
RBC Center

Amateur

The North Carolina Tigers, an Australian Rules football club in the USAFL, and competing in the EAFL are based in Raleigh. Raleigh is also home to the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby league, the Carolina Rollergirls.

College sports

Due to the number of colleges and universities in the area, NCAA sports are very popular. The Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina State University Wolfpack is situated in West Raleigh, and fellow ACC rivals, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels, and the Duke University Blue Devils, are no more than a 30 minute drive away. In addition, the Wake Forest University in nearby Winston-Salem brings the total number of ACC schools to four and is the Wolfpack's oldest rivalry. North Carolina State won the NCAA basketball championship in 1974 and 1983, the latter under head coach Jim Valvano. In 1946, the arrival of head coach and Indiana native Everett Case at North Carolina State marked the beginning of the rapid growth of basketball in North Carolina.

The competition among North Carolina State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Duke is sometimes referred to as Tobacco Road by sportscasters. Two historically black colleges, St. Augustine College and Shaw University also provide a basis for the strength of college sports in the area.

Leisure

Raleigh’s award-winning Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of leisure services at more than 150 sites: 8100 acres of park land, 54 miles of greenway, 22 staffed community centers, a BMX champion race track, 112 tennis courts at 25 locations, 5 lakes, and 8 swimming facilities.

The JC Raulston Arboretum, part of N.C. State University, includes an impressive, year-round botanical collection and is open free to the public.

With the impending exodus of the Dorothea Dix hospital from Dix Hill it is largely expected that at least part of the property will be converted to a public park or gardens. As of 2006, the eventual use of Dix Hill is hotly contested, partly due of its proximity to downtown, but mostly due to the impressive and unique view of Raleigh's skyline.

The NC-DOT Mountains-to-Sea bike route goes through Raleigh, as does the U.S. Maine-to-Florida bicycle route #1. The NC-DOT Cape Fear Run bicycle route connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the RUSA 600km brevet route.

The area also features a variety of amateur participatory sports as well, with an Australian rules football semi-pro team the North Carolina Tigers, and soccer, softball, flag football, basketball, and even dodgeball and kickball leagues operated privately or by the municipality.

Transportation

  • Air: Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just northwest of Raleigh on I-40 between Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina.
  • Interstate highway: I-40, I-440 Beltline, I-540
    • The Beltline makes a loop around the city. Visitors and even long-time residents are frequently confused by the terms "Inner Beltline", "Outer Beltline", and "Outer Loop". The Inner and Outer Beltline (both I-440)are the same road; "inner" and "outer" refer to the positions of the lanes of traffic, the Inner Beltline being inside the Outer Beltline. The Inner Beltline runs clockwise; the Outer is counter-clockwise. The Outer Loop refers to I-540, which does not yet completely encircle Raleigh; it is still under construction. Most signs along the two loops refer not to destinations within Raleigh, such as "NC State Area" or "East Raleigh" but to outlying towns such as Wake Forest, Sanford, Rocky Mount, or Wilmington, lending little in the way of help to drivers unfamiliar with the region.
    • United States Highways:
U.S. Route 1 (known in parts of Raleigh as Capital Boulevard)
US-64 (New Bern Avenue,
US-70 (known in parts of Raleigh as Glenwood Avenue, and S. Saunders St
US-264 (cosigned with US-64 through east Raleigh)
U.S. Route 401 (part of Capital Boulevard, and Louisburg Road)
N.C. 54 (known as Chapel Hill Road and Hillsborough Street, ends at I-440)
N.C. 50 (known as Creedmoor Road)
N.C. 98 (known as Durham Road, constitues far northern limit of Raleigh)
  • Passenger Rail: Bytrain.org: Amtrak Carolinian, Piedmont and Silver Star offer daily service to
  • Local Bus: Within Raleigh, the CAT, or Capital Area Transit system operates 27 bus routes. The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Durham and Chapel Hill; Efforts for the city of Raleigh to build a light rail from the downtown areas of Raleigh to the downtown area of Durham failed as TTA's projected ridership did not meet Federal Standards. The majority of Raleigh citizens failed to see the benefit of the light rail as the planned routes did not serve any of the major areas of need for citizen's. (The rail system plain failed to include RDU airport, the three major shopping malls or any of the suburbs who could use the rail to commute to the Research Triangle Park. The planned rail did pass near RTP however this left commuters with the problem of getting to their office building in the massive technology park from the planned station.
  • Bicycle: Most public buses are equipped with bicycle racks. A small minority of roads are equipped with bicycle lanes.

Capital Boulevard is a significant road in Raleigh. Its southern terminus is near the capitol building in downtown Raleigh, where it splits into McDowell Street (one-way heading north) and Dawson Street (one-way heading south). The northern terminus of Capital Boulevard is at the Raleigh city limits (where the street changes its name). Because this road was the major route of traffic to and from the government buildings of the state capital, a great deal of light industry, commercial work, and service industry grew up along it, eventually creating an area known as Mini-City, which extends from I-440 to I-540. In recent years, this development has expanded northward. The portion of Capital Boulevard between downtown Raleigh and Wake Forest Road, originally known as Downtown Boulevard, is a limited access highway. The portion north of Wake Forest Road was originally known as North Boulevard. Major highways US-1 and US-401 follow Capital Boulevard until 401 splits off north of the I-440 beltline and becomes Louisburg Road.

Major streets in downtown Raleigh can be thought of as originating from the Capital on Union Square, and heading roughly in the direction of towns of historical significance. To the south run Salisbury, Fayetteville, and Wilmington Streets. To the east run New Bern and Edenton Streets. To the north ran Halifax Street, now only viewable as a walkway between two museums and as the Halifax Street Mall, the grassy plaza between State government buildings. To the west runs Hillsborough Street. Other downtown streets are commonly named after North Carolina counties, or the notables for which the counties were named.

Media

State

Raleigh and the Triangle are home to North Carolina Public Radio, a public radio station/NPR provider that brings in listeners around the country, and UNC-TV, also based out of UNC in Chapel Hill.

Local

There are several newspapers and periodicals that serve the Raleigh market:

Raleigh is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville Designated Market Area, and includes the following television stations:

The market is also host to the state's first online TV station: RTP-TV - Research Triangle Park Television which has programs of local interest broadcast over the Internet as well as Fox50 (WRAZ) through paid air-time.

The city is also home to the Triangle bureau of News 14 Carolina

Raleigh is Arbitron radio market #43. Stations include

Sister cities

Notable Raleighites

See also

References

  1. ^ "MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Raleigh, NC snapshot". MONEY Magazine. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  2. ^ "City of Raleigh Years (1587 - 1844)". City of Raleigh. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
  3. ^ "About John Haywood". NSCDA. Retrieved 2006-09-07.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raleigh, North Carolina.

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