Philadelphia City

The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn) is a co-educational, private, nonsectarian research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the university, it is America's first university and is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Penn is also a member of the Ivy League and is one of the Colonial Colleges. Benjamin Franklin, Penn's founder, advocated an educational program that focused as much on practical education for commerce and public service as on the classics and theology. Penn was one of the first academic institutions to follow a multidisciplinary model pioneered by several European universities, concentrating several "faculties" (e.g., theology, classics, medicine) into one institution. Penn is acknowledged as a leader in the arts and humanities, the social sciences, architecture, communications and education. Penn is particularly noted for its schools of business, law and medicine (see BusinessWeek magazine and U.S. News and World Report). About 4,500 professors serve nearly 10,000 full-time undergraduate and 10,000 graduate and professional students. In FY2006, Penn's academic research programs undertook more than $660 million in research, involving some 4,200 faculty, 870 postdoctoral fellows, 3,800 graduate students, and 5,400 support staff. Much of the funding is provided by the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research. In 2005, Penn was awarded $470 million in grants by the NIH, ranking it second among all universities. Penn tops the Ivy League in annual spending, with a projected 2007 budget of $4.77 billion, including $2.43 billion for the academic component and $2.34 billion for the Health System (Hospital, clinical practices, health care affiliates). In 2006, it ranked fourth among U.S. universities in fundraising, bringing in about $409.5 million in private support. Penn is incorporated as "The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania." The university is one of 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities.

United States of America

Flag Great Seal

Motto: In God We Trust (official) E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Capital Washington, D.C. 38°53′N 77°02′W Largest city New York City Official languages None at federal level1 National language English (de facto)2 Demonym American Government Constitutional federal presidential republic - President George W. Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) - Chief Justice John Roberts Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain - Declared July 4, 1776 - Recognized September 3, 1783 - Current constitution June 21, 1788 Area - Total 9,826,630 km² 1 3,794,066 sq mi - Water (%) 6.76 Population - 2008 estimate 305,012,000[2] (3rd4) - 2000 census 281,421,906[3] - Density 31/km² (180th) 80/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate - Total $13.543 trillion[4] (1st) - Per capita $43,444 (4th) GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate - Total $13.794 trillion[4] (1st) - Per capita $43,594 (11th) Gini (2006) 47.0[5] (high) HDI (2005) 0.951 (high[6]) (12th) Currency United States dollar ($) (USD "$") Time zone (UTC-5 to -10) - Summer (DST) (UTC-4 to -10) Internet TLD .us .gov .mil .edu Calling code +1 1 English is the official language of at least 28 states—some sources give a higher figure, based on differing definitions of "official." English and Hawaiian are both official languages in the state of Hawaii. 2 English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 82% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language. 3 Whether the United States or the People's Republic of China is larger is disputed. The figure given is per the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the fifty states and the District of Columbia, not the territories. 4 The population estimate includes people whose usual residence is in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, including noncitizens. It does not include either those living in the territories, amounting to more than four million U.S. citizens (most in Puerto Rico), or U.S. citizens living outside the United States.

For a topic outline on this subject, see List of basic United States topics. For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation)United States of America

Flag Great Seal

Motto: In God We Trust (official) E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Capital Washington, D.C. 38°53′N 77°02′W Largest city New York City Official languages None at federal level1 National language English (de facto)2 Demonym American Government Constitutional federal presidential republic - President George W. Bush (R) - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) - Chief Justice John Roberts Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain - Declared July 4, 1776 - Recognized September 3, 1783 - Current constitution June 21, 1788 Area - Total 9,826,630 km² 1 3,794,066 sq mi - Water (%) 6.76 Population - 2008 estimate 305,012,000[2] (3rd4) - 2000 census 281,421,906[3] - Density 31/km² (180th) 80/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate - Total $13.543 trillion[4] (1st) - Per capita $43,444 (4th) GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate - Total $13.794 trillion[4] (1st) - Per capita $43,594 (11th) Gini (2006) 47.0[5] (high) HDI (2005) 0.951 (high[6]) (12th) Currency United States dollar ($) (USD "$") Time zone (UTC-5 to -10) - Summer (DST) (UTC-4 to -10) Internet TLD .us .gov .mil .edu Calling code +1 1 English is the official language of at least 28 states—some sources give a higher figure, based on differing definitions of "official." English and Hawaiian are both official languages in the state of Hawaii. 2 English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 82% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language. 3 Whether the United States or the People's Republic of China is larger is disputed. The figure given is per the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the fifty states and the District of Columbia, not the territories. 4 The population estimate includes people whose usual residence is in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, including noncitizens. It does not include either those living in the territories, amounting to more than four million U.S. citizens (most in Puerto Rico), or U.S. citizens living outside the United States.

The United States of America, usually referred to as the United States, the USA, the U.S. or America, is a constitutional federal republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific.

At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.[7] The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$13 trillion (over 25% of the world total based on nominal GDP and almost 20% by purchasing power parity).[4][8]

The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. On July 4, 1776, they jointly issued the Declaration of Independence, which officially declared their independence from Great Britain and their formation of a cooperative union as a new nation. The rebellion was organized by the Continental Congress and succeeded in defeating Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, the first successful colonial war of independence.[9] After briefly being governed by the Articles of Confederation it became clear that a more powerful central government was needed. It was formed after a constitutional convention and the current United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787. The Bill of Rights, comprising ten constitutional amendments that guaranteed many fundamental civil rights and freedoms under the new government, was ratified in 1791.

In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired land from France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Russia, and annexed the Republic of Texas and the Republic of Hawaii. Disputes between the agrarian South and industrial North over states' rights and the expansion of the institution of slavery provoked the American Civil War of the 1860s. The North's victory prevented a permanent split of the country and led to the end of legal slavery in the United States. However, the Jim Crow laws passed after reconstruction allowed racism and inequality to persist.

The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the nation's status as a military power. In 1945, the United States emerged from World War II as the first country with nuclear weapons, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and a founding member of NATO. In the post–Cold War era, the United States is the only remaining superpower—accounting for approximately 50% of global military spending—and a dominant economic, political, and cultural force in the world.[10]

Etymology

The term America, for the lands of the western hemisphere, is mostly believed to have been coined in 1507 after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer and cartographer.[11] The full name of the country was first used officially in the Declaration of Independence, which was the "unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America" adopted by the "Representatives of the united States of America" on July 4, 1776.[12] The current name was finalized on November 15, 1777, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first of which states, "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'" Common short forms and abbreviations of the United States of America include the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America. Colloquial names for the country include the U.S. of A. and the States. Columbia, a once popular name for the Americas and the United States, was derived from Christopher Columbus. It appears in the name "District of Columbia". A female personification of Columbia appears on some official documents, including certain prints of U.S. currency.

The standard way to refer to a citizen of the United States is as an American. Though United States is the formal adjective, American and U.S. are the most common adjectives used to refer to the country ("American values," "U.S. forces"). American is rarely used in English to refer to people not connected to the United States.[13]

The phrase "the United States" was originally treated as plural—e.g, "the United States are"—including in the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865. However, it became increasingly common to treat the name as singular—e.g., "the United States is"—after the end of the Civil War. The singular form is now standard, while the plural form is retained in the set idiom "these United States."[14]

Geography Main articles: Geography of the United States, Climate of the United States, and Territorial evolution of the United States

Topographic map of the contiguous United States

The United States is situated almost entirely in the western hemisphere: the contiguous United States stretches from the Pacific on the west to the Atlantic on the east, with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, and bordered by Canada on the north and Mexico on the south. Alaska is the largest state in area; separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada, it touches the Pacific on the south and Arctic Ocean on the north. Hawaii occupies an archipelago in the central Pacific, southwest of North America. The United States is the world's third or fourth largest nation by total area, before or after China. The ranking varies depending on (a) how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and (b) how the total size of the United States is calculated: the CIA World Factbook gives 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,083 sq mi),[1] the United Nations Statistics Division gives 9,629,091 km2 (3,717,813 sq mi),[15] and the Encyclopedia Britannica gives 9,522,055 km2 (3,676,486 sq mi).[16] Including only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.[17] The United States also possesses several insular territories scattered around the West Indies (e.g., the commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and the Pacific (e.g., Guam

The Cathedral Group of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The coastal plain of the Atlantic seaboard gives way further inland to deciduous forests and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. The Appalachian Mountains divide the eastern seaboard from the Great Lakes and the grasslands of the Midwest. The Mississippi–Missouri River, the world's fourth longest river system, runs mainly north-south through the heart of the country. The flat, fertile prairie land of the Great Plains stretches to the west, interrupted by a highland region along its southeastern portion. The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the continental United States, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado.[18] The area to the west of the Rocky Mountains is dominated by the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Mojave. The Sierra Nevada range runs parallel to the Rockies, relatively close to the Pacific coast. At 20,320 feet (6,194 m), Alaska's Mount McKinley is the country's tallest peak. Active volcanoes are common throughout the Alexander and Aleutian Islands, and the entire state of Hawaii is built upon tropical volcanic islands. The supervolcano underlying Yellowstone National Park in the Rockies is the continent's largest volcanic feature.[19]

Because of the United States' large size and wide range of geographic features, nearly every type of climate is represented. The climate is temperate in most areas, tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida, polar in Alaska, semi-arid in the Great Plains west of the 100th meridian, desert in the Southwest, Mediterranean in Coastal California, and arid in the Great Basin. Extreme weather is not uncommon—the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico are prone to hurricanes, and most of the world's tornadoes occur within the continental United States, primarily in the Midwest's Tornado Alley.[20]

Environment

The bald eagle has been the national bird of the United States since 1782 Main article: Environment of the United States

U.S. plant life is very diverse; the country has more than 17,000 identified native species of flora.[21] More than 400 mammal, 700 bird, 500 reptile and amphibian, and 90,000 insect species have been documented.[22] The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The U.S. has fifty-eight national parks and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas.[23] Altogether, the U.S. government regulates 28.8% of the country's total land area.[24] Most such public land comprises protected parks and forestland, though some federal land is leased for oil and gas drilling,[25] mining, or cattle ranching.

History Main article: History of the United States

Native Americans and European settlers Main articles: Native Americans in the United States, European colonization of the Americas, and Thirteen Colonies

The indigenous peoples of the U.S. mainland, including Alaska Natives, are thought to have migrated from Asia. They began arriving at least 12,000 and as many as 40,000 years ago.[26] Several indigenous communities in the pre-Columbian era developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. In 1492, Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus, under contract to the Spanish crown, reached several Caribbean islands, making first contact with the indigenous population. In the years that followed, the majority of the indigenous American peoples were killed by epidemics of Eurasian diseases.[27]

The Mayflower transported Pilgrims to the New World in 1620, as depicted in William Halsall's The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor, 1882

On April 2, 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed on what he called "La Florida"—the first documented European arrival on what would become the U.S. mainland. Of the colonies Spain established in the region, only St. Augustine, founded in 1565, remains. Later Spanish settlements in the present-day southwestern United States drew thousands through Mexico. French fur traders established outposts of New France around the Great Lakes; France eventually claimed much of the North American interior as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The first successful English settlements were the Virginia Colony in Jamestown in 1607 and the Pilgrims' Plymouth Colony in 1620. The 1628 chartering of the Massachusetts Bay Colony resulted in a wave of migration; by 1634, New England had been settled by some 10,000 Puritans. Between the late 1610s and the American Revolution, an estimated 50,000 convicts were shipped to England's, and later Great Britain's, American colonies.[28] Beginning in 1614, the Dutch established settlements along the lower Hudson River, including New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. The small settlement of New Sweden, founded along the Delaware River in 1638, was taken over by the Dutch in 1655.

By 1674, English forces had won the former Dutch colonies in the Anglo–Dutch Wars; the province of New Netherland was renamed New York. Many new immigrants, especially to the South, were indentured servants—some two-thirds of all Virginia immigrants between 1630 and 1680.[29] By the turn of the century, African slaves were becoming the primary source of bonded labor. With the 1729 division of the Carolinas and the 1732 colonization of Georgia, the thirteen British colonies that would become the United States of America were established. All had active local and colonial governments with elections open to most free men, with a growing devotion to the ancient rights of Englishmen and a sense of self government that stimulated support for republicanism. All had legalized the African slave trade. With high birth rates, low death rates, and steady immigration, the colonies doubled in population every twenty-five years. The Christian revivalist movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the Great Awakening fueled interest in both religion and religious liberty. In the French and Indian War, British forces seized Canada from the French, but the francophone population remained politically isolated from the southern colonies. By 1770, those thirteen colonies had an increasingly Anglicized population of three million, approximately half that of Britain. Though subject to British taxation, they were given no representation in the Parliament of Great Britain.

Independence and expansion Main articles: American Revolution, American Revolutionary War, and Manifest Destiny

Declaration of Independence, by John Trumbull, 1817–18

Tensions between American colonials and the British during the revolutionary period of the 1760s and early 1770s led to the American Revolutionary War, fought from 1775 through 1781. On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress, convening in Philadelphia, established a Continental Army under the command of George Washington. Proclaiming that "all men are created equal" and endowed with "certain unalienable Rights," the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Declaration, drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson, pronounced the colonies sovereign "states." In 1777, the Articles of Confederation were adopted, uniting the states under a weak federal government that operated until 1788. Some 70,000–80,000 loyalists to the British Crown fled the rebellious states, many to Nova Scotia and the new British holdings in Canada.[30] Native Americans, with divided allegiances, fought on both sides of the war's western front.

After the defeat of the British army by American forces who were assisted by the French, Great Britain recognized the sovereignty of the thirteen states in 1783. A constitutional convention was organized in 1787 by those who wished to establish a strong national government with power over the states. By June 1788, nine states had ratified the United States Constitution, sufficient to establish the new government; the republic's first Senate, House of Representatives, and president—George Washington—took office in 1789. New York City was the federal capital for a year, before the government relocated to Philadelphia. In 1791, the states ratified the Bill of Rights, ten amendments to the Constitution forbidding federal restriction of personal freedoms and guaranteeing a range of legal protections. Attitudes toward slavery were shifting; a clause in the Constitution protected the African slave trade only until 1808. The Northern states abolished slavery between 1780 and 1804, leaving the slave states of the South as defenders of the "peculiar institution." In 1800, the federal government moved to the newly founded Washington, D.C. The Second Great Awakening made evangelicalism a force behind various social reform movements.

Territorial acquisitions by date

Americans' eagerness to expand westward began a cycle of Indian Wars that stretched to the end of the nineteenth century, as Native Americans were stripped of their land. The Louisiana Purchase of French-claimed territory under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 virtually doubled the nation's size. The War of 1812, declared against Britain over various grievances and fought to a draw, strengthened American nationalism. A series of U.S. military incursions into Florida led Spain to cede it and other Gulf Coast territory in 1819. The country annexed the Republic of Texas in 1845. The concept of Manifest Destiny was popularized during this time.[31] The 1846 Oregon Treaty with Britain led to U.S. control of the present-day American Northwest. The U.S. victory in the Mexican-American War resulted in the 1848 cession of California and much of the present-day American Southwest. The California Gold Rush of 1848–49 further spurred western migration. New railways made relocation much less arduous for settlers and increased conflicts with Native Americans. Over a half-century, up to 40 million American bison, commonly called buffalo, were slaughtered for skins and meat and to ease the railways' spread. The loss of the bison, a primary economic resource for the plains Indians, was an existential blow to many native cultures.

Civil War and industrialization Main articles: American Civil War, Reconstruction era of the United States, and Spanish-American War

Battle of Gettysburg, lithograph by Currier & Ives, ca. 1863

Tensions between slave and free states mounted with increasing disagreements over the relationship between the state and federal governments and violent conflicts over the expansion of slavery into new states. Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the largely antislavery Republican Party, was elected president in 1860. Before he took office, seven slave states declared their secession from the United States, forming the Confederate States of America. The federal government maintained secession was illegal, and with the Confederate attack upon Fort Sumter, the American Civil War began and four more slave states joined the Confederacy. The Union freed Confederate slaves as its army advanced through the South. Following the Union victory in 1865, three amendments to the U.S. Constitution ensured freedom for the nearly four million African Americans who had been slaves,[32] made them citizens, and gave them voting rights. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in federal power.[33]

Immigrants landing at Ellis Island, New York, 1902

After the war, the assassination of President Lincoln radicalized Republican Reconstruction policies aimed at reintegrating and rebuilding the Southern states while ensuring the rights of the newly freed slaves. The resolution of the disputed 1876 presidential election by the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction; Jim Crow laws soon disenfranchised many African Americans. In the North, urbanization and an unprecedented influx of immigrants hastened the country's industrialization. The wave of immigration, which lasted until 1929, provided labor for U.S. businesses and transformed American culture. High tariff protections, national infrastructure building, and new banking regulations encouraged industrial growth. The 1867 Alaska purchase from Russia completed the country's mainland expansion. The Wounded Knee massacre in 1890 was the last major armed conflict of the Indian Wars. In 1893, the indigenous monarchy of the Pacific Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup led by American residents; the archipelago was annexed by the United States in 1898. Victory in the Spanish-American War that same year demonstrated that the United States was a major world power and resulted in the annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.[34] The Philippines gained independence a half-century later; Puerto Rico remains a commonwealth of the United States; and Guam remains a U.S. territory.

World War I, Great Depression, and World War II Main articles: American Expeditionary Force, Great Depression, and Military history of the United States during World War II

An abandoned farm in South Dakota during the Dust Bowl, 1936

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the United States remained neutral. Americans sympathized with the British and French, although many citizens, mostly Irish and German, opposed intervention.[35] In 1917, the United States joined the Allies, turning the tide against the Central Powers. Reluctant to be involved in European affairs, the Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations. The country pursued a policy of unilateralism, verging on isolationism.[36] In 1920, the women's rights movement won passage of a constitutional amendment granting women's suffrage. Partly because of the service of many in the war, Native Americans gained U.S. citizenship in the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

During most of the 1920s, the United States enjoyed a period of unbalanced prosperity as farm profits fell while industrial profits grew. A rise in debt and an inflated stock market culminated in the 1929 crash that triggered the Great Depression. After his election as president in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal, a range of policies increasing government intervention in the economy. The Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s impoverished many farming communities and spurred a new wave of western migration. The nation would not fully recover from the economic depression until the industrial mobilization spurred by its entrance into World War II. The United States, effectively neutral during the war's early stages after the Nazi invasion of Poland in September 1939, began supplying materiel to the Allies in March 1941 through the Lend-Lease program.

On December 7, 1941, the United States joined the Allies against the Axis powers after a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan. World War II cost far more money than any other war in American history,[37] but it boosted the economy by providing capital investment and jobs, while bringing many women into the labor market. Among the major combatants, the United States was the only nation to become richer—indeed, far richer—instead of poorer because of the war.[38] Allied conferences at Bretton Woods and Yalta outlined a new system of international organizations that placed the United States and Soviet Union at the center of world affairs. As victory was achieved in Europe, a 1945 international conference held in San Francisco produced the United Nations Charter, which became active after the war.[39] The United States, having developed the first nuclear weapons, used them on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Japan surrendered on September 2, ending the war.[40]

Cold War and civil rights Main articles: Cold War, African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968), and Vietnam War

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

The United States and Soviet Union jockeyed for power after World War II during the Cold War, dominating the military affairs of Europe through NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The United States promoted liberal democracy and capitalism, while the Soviet Union promoted communism and a centrally planned economy. Both the United States and the Soviet Union supported dictatorships, and both engaged in proxy wars. United States troops fought Communist Chinese forces in the Korean War of 1950–53. The House Un-American Activities Committee pursued a series of investigations into suspected leftist subversion, while Senator Joseph McCarthy became the figurehead of anticommunist sentiment.

The Soviet Union launched the first manned spacecraft in 1961, prompting U.S. efforts to raise proficiency in mathematics and science and President John F. Kennedy's call for the country to be first to land "a man on the moon," achieved in 1969.[41] Kennedy also faced a tense nuclear showdown with Soviet forces in Cuba. Meanwhile, America experienced sustained economic expansion. A growing civil rights movement headed by prominent African Americans, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., fought segregation and discrimination, leading to the abolition of Jim Crow laws. Following Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson and his successor, Richard Nixon, expanded a proxy war in Southeast Asia into the unsuccessful Vietnam War.

As a result of the Watergate scandal, in 1974 Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign, rather than be impeached on charges including obstruction of justice and abuse of power; he was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford. During the Jimmy Carter administration in the late 1970s, the U.S. economy experienced stagflation. The election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 marked a significant rightward shift in American politics, reflected in major changes in taxation and spending priorities.[42] In the late 1980s and 1990s, the Soviet Union collapsed, effectively ending the Cold War.

Contemporary era Main articles: September 11, 2001 attacks and War on Terrorism

The leadership role taken by the United States and its allies in the United Nations–sanctioned Gulf War, under President George H. W. Bush, and later the Yugoslav wars helped to preserve its position as the world's last remaining superpower. The longest economic expansion in modern U.S. history—from March 1991 to March 2001—encompassed the administration of President Bill Clinton.[43] The dot com boom saw an unprecedented growth in Internet technology and computer use. In 1998, Clinton was impeached by the House on charges relating to a civil lawsuit and a sexual scandal, but he was acquitted by the Senate and remained in office.

The World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001

The presidential election of 2000, one of the closest in U.S. history, was ultimately resolved by a decision of the United States Supreme Court, with George W. Bush, son of George H. W. Bush, becoming president. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists struck the World Trade Center in New York City and The Pentagon near Washington, D.C., killing nearly three thousand people. In the aftermath, President Bush launched the War on Terrorism under a military philosophy stressing preemptive war now known as the Bush Doctrine. In late 2001, U.S. forces led a NATO invasion of Afghanistan, removing the Taliban government and al-Qaeda training camps. Taliban insurgents continue to fight a guerrilla war against the NATO-led force. The United States has been criticized for human rights violations in its pursuit of the War on Terrorism.[44]

In 2002, the Bush administration began to press for regime change in Iraq on controversial grounds.[45][46] Lacking the support of NATO or an explicit United Nations mandate for military intervention, Bush formed a Coalition of the Willing, and the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, removing President Saddam Hussein from power. Though the intervention has become increasingly unpopular in the United States,[47][48] the U.S.-led coalition maintains a presence in Iraq. In the upcoming 2008 presidential election, the Republican Party candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war, will face the Democratic Party candidate, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the first African American to head a major political party's presidential ticket.

Government and elections Main articles: Federal government of the United States and Elections in the United States

The west front of the United States Capitol, which houses the United States Congress

The United States is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic, "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law."[49] It is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy, though U.S. citizens residing in the territories are excluded from voting for federal officials.[50] The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the United States Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document and as a social contract for the people of the United States. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government, federal, state, and local; the local government's duties are commonly split between county and municipal governments. In almost all cases, executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. There is no proportional representation at the federal level, and it is very rare at lower levels. Federal and state judicial and cabinet officials are typically nominated by the executive branch and approved by the legislature, although some state judges and officials are elected by popular vote.

The South Portico of the White House, home and work place of the U.S. president

The federal government is composed of three branches: Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the fifty states by population every tenth year. As of the 2000 census, seven states have the minimum of one representative, while California, the most populous state, has fifty-three. The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every second year. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral college system in which the determining votes are apportioned by state. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.

The front of the United States Supreme Court building

All laws and procedures of both state and federal governments are subject to review, and any law ruled in violation of the Constitution by the judicial branch is overturned. The original text of the Constitution establishes the structure and responsibilities of the federal government, the relationship between it and the individual states, and essential matters of military and economic authority. Article One protects the right to the "great writ" of habeas corpus, and Article Three guarantees the right to a jury trial in all criminal cases. Amendments to the Constitution require the approval of three-fourths of the states. The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments, which make up the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment form the central basis of individual rights in the United States.

Parties, ideology and politics Main articles: Politics of the United States and Political ideologies in the United States

Politics in the United States have operated under a two-party system for virtually all of the country's history. For elective offices at all levels, state-administered primary elections are held to choose the major party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the two dominant parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824 (though its roots trace back to 1792), and the Republican Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.

Within American political culture, the Republican Party is considered "center-right" or conservative and the Democratic Party is considered "center-left" or liberal. The current political culture is characterized by a high degree of political polarization.[51] The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue states" in political parlance, are relatively liberal-leaning. The "red states" of the South and the Rocky Mountains lean conservative.

The incumbent president, Republican George W. Bush, is the 43rd president in the country's history. All U.S. presidents to date have been white men. If Democrat Barack Obama wins the forthcoming presidential election, he will become the first African-American president; if Republican John McCain wins, he will become the oldest man ever to ascend to the office. Following the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party controls both the House and the Senate. As of August 2008 every member of the U.S. Congress is a Democrat or a Republican except two independent members of the Senate—one (Joe Lieberman) a former Democratic incumbent, the other (Bernard Sanders) a self-described socialist. An overwhelming majority of state and local officials are also either Democrats or Republicans.

States Main article: U.S. state See also: Territorial acquisitions of the United States

The United States is a federal union of fifty states. The original thirteen states were the successors of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against British rule. Most of the rest have been carved from territory obtained through war or purchase by the U.S. government. The exceptions are Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii; each was an independent republic before joining the union. Early in the country's history, three states were created out of the territory of existing ones: Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; and Maine from Massachusetts. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. The most recent state—Hawaii—achieved statehood on August 21, 1959. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the states do not have the right to secede from the union.

The states compose the vast bulk of the U.S. land mass; the only other areas considered integral parts of the country are the District of Columbia, the federal district where the capital, Washington, is located; and Palmyra Atoll, an uninhabited but incorporated territory in the Pacific Ocean. The United States possesses five major territories with indigenous populations: Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; and American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific. Those born in the territories (except for American Samoa) possess U.S. citizenship.

Foreign relations and military Main articles: Foreign policy of the United States and Military of the United States

President George W. Bush (right) with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

The United States has vast economic, political, and military influence on a global scale, which makes its foreign policy a subject of great interest around the world. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, D.C., and many host consulates around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host American diplomatic missions. However, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Bhutan, Sudan, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States.

American isolationists have often been at odds with internationalists, as anti-imperialists have been with promoters of Manifest Destiny and American Empire. American imperialism in the Philippines drew sharp rebukes from Mark Twain, philosopher William James, and many others. Later, President Woodrow Wilson played a key role in creating the League of Nations, but the Senate prohibited American membership in it. Isolationism became a thing of the past when the United States took a lead role in founding the United Nations, becoming a permanent member of the Security Council and host to the United Nations Headquarters. The United States enjoys a special relationship with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and fellow NATO members. It also works closely with its neighbors through the Organization of American States and free trade agreements such as the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. In 2005, the United States spent $27.3 billion on official development assistance, the most in the world; however, as a share of gross national income (GNI), the U.S. contribution of 0.22% ranked twentieth of twenty-two donor states. On the other hand, nongovernmental sources such as private foundations, corporations, and educational and religious institutions donated $95.5 billion. The total of $122.8 billion is again the most in the world and seventh in terms of GNI percentage.[52]

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier

The president holds the title of commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces and appoints its leaders, the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The United States Department of Defense administers the armed forces, including the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and the Department of the Navy in times of war. In 2005, the military had 1.38 million personnel on active duty,[53] along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard for a total of 2.3 million troops. The Department of Defense also employs approximately 700,000 civilians, disregarding contractors. Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime through the Selective Service System. The rapid deployment of American forces is facilitated by the Air Force's large fleet of transportation aircraft and aerial refueling tankers, the Navy's fleet of eleven active aircraft carriers, and Marine Expeditionary Units at sea in the Navy's Atlantic and Pacific fleets. Outside of the American homeland, the U.S. military is deployed to 770 bases and facilities, on every continent except Antarctica.[54] Because of the extent of its global military presence, scholars describe the United States as maintaining an "empire of bases."[55]

Total U.S. military spending in 2006, over $528 billion, was 46% of the entire military spending in the world and greater than the next fourteen largest national military expenditures combined. (In purchasing power parity terms, it was larger than the next six such expenditures combined.) The per capita spending of $1,756 was approximately ten times the world average.[56] At 4.06% of GDP, U.S. military spending is ranked 27th out of 172 nations.[57] The proposed base Department of Defense budget for 2009, $515.4 billion, is a 7% increase over 2008 and a nearly 74% increase over 2001.[58] The estimated total cost of the Iraq War to the United States through 2016 is $2.267 trillion.[59] As of June 6, 2008, the United States had suffered 4,092 military fatalities during the war and nearly 30,000 wounded.[60]

Economy Main article: Economy of the United StatesNational economic indicators Unemployment 5.7%July 2008[61] GDP growth 0.9%1Q 2008[62] (2.2%)2007[1] CPI inflation 3.9%April 2007–April 2008[63] National debt $9.571 trillionAugust 7, 2008[64] Poverty 12.3% or 13.3%2006[5][65]

The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. According to the International Monetary Fund, the United States GDP of more than $13 trillion constitutes over 25.5% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP).[4] The largest national GDP in the world, it was slightly less than the combined GDP of the European Union at PPP in 2006.[66] The country ranks eighth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and fourth in GDP per capita at PPP.[4] The United States is the largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per capita are relatively low. Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top trading partners.[67] The leading export commodity is electrical machinery, while vehicles constitute the leading import.[68]

The private sector constitutes the bulk of the economy, with government activity accounting for 12.4% of GDP. The economy is postindustrial, with the service sector contributing 67.8% of GDP.[69] The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is finance and insurance.[70] The United States remains an industrial power, with chemical products the leading manufacturing field.[71] The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world.[72] It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While agriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP,[69] the United States is the world's top producer of corn[73] and soybeans.[74] The country's leading cash crop is marijuana, despite federal laws making its cultivation and sale illegal.[75] The New York Stock Exchange is the world's largest by dollar volume.[76] Coca-Cola and McDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world.[77]

Wall Street is home to the New York Stock Exchange

In 2005, 155 million persons were employed with earnings, of whom 80% worked in full-time jobs.[78] The majority, 79%, were employed in the service sector.[1] With approximately 15.5 million people, health care and social assistance is the leading field of employment.[79] About 12% of American workers are unionized, compared to 30% in Western Europe.[80] The U.S. ranks number one in the ease of hiring and firing workers, according to the World Bank.[81] Between 1973 and 2003, a year's work for the average American grew by 199 hours.[82] Partly as a result, the United States maintains the highest labor productivity in the world. However, it no longer leads the world in productivity per hour as it did from the 1950s through the early 1990s; workers in Norway, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg are now more productive per hour.[83] The United States ranks third in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index.[81] Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate income taxes are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption taxes are lower.[84]

Income and human development Main articles: Income in the United States, Income inequality in the United States, Poverty in the United States, and Affluence in the United States

Inflation adjusted percentage increase in after-tax household income for the top 1% and four quintiles, between 1979 and 2005 (gains by top 1% are reflected by bottom bar; bottom quintile by top bar)[85]

According to the Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2006 was $48,201.[5] The two-year average ranged from $66,752 in New Jersey to $34,343 in Mississippi.[86] Using purchasing power parity exchange rates, the overall median is similar to the most affluent cluster of developed nations. After having declined sharply throughout the mid 20th century, poverty rates have plateaued since the early 1970s, with roughly 12.3% or 13.3% of Americans below the federally designated poverty line in any given year, with 58.5% spending at least one year below the poverty line at some point in their lives between the ages of 25 and 75.[5][65][87] Owing to lackluster expansion since the late 1970s, the U.S. welfare state is now among the most austere in the developed world,[88][89] reducing relative poverty by roughly 30% and absolute poverty by roughly 40%; considerably less than the mean for rich nations.[90][91][92] While the American welfare state preforms well in reducing poverty among the elderly, from an estimated 50% to 10%,[93] it lacks extensive programs geared towards the well-being of the young.[94] A 2007 UNICEF study of children's well-being in twenty-one industrialized nations, covering a broad range of factors, ranked the U.S. next to last.[95]

Despite strong increases in productivity, low unemployment and low inflation, income gains since 1980 have been slower than in previous decades, less widely shared and accompanied by increased levels of economic insecurity. Between 1947 and 1979, real median income rose by over 80% for all classes, more so for the poor than the rich.[96][97] While median household income has increased for all classes since 1980,[98] largely owing to more dual earner households, the closing of the gender gap and longer work hours, growth has been slower and strongly titled towards the very top (see graph).[99][90][96][100][101] As a result, the share of income of the top 1% has doubbled since 1979,[102] leaving the U.S. with the highest level of income inequality among developed nations.[90][103][104] While some economists do not see inequality as a considerable problem, most see it as a problem requiring government action.[105][106][107] Inequality has been accompanied by a shift in economic risk, from being shared widely among households, firms and government agencies and distributed among large population pools, to increasingly being shouldered by individual households, with income volatility having increased by over 50% since the early 1970s.[87] Wealth, like income, is highly concentrated: The richest 10% of the adult population possesses 69.8% of the country's household wealth, the second-highest share of any democratic developed nation.[108] The top 1% possesses 33.4% of net wealth.[109]

Science and technology Main articles: Science and technology in the United States and Technological and industrial history of the United States

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the first human landing on the Moon, 1969

The United States has been a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the late nineteenth century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone. The laboratory of Thomas Edison developed the phonograph, the first long-lasting light bulb, and the first viable movie camera. In the early twentieth century, the automobile companies of Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford pioneered assembly line manufacturing. The Wright brothers, in 1903, made what is recognized as the "first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight."[110] The rise of Nazism in the 1930s led many important European scientists, including Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, to immigrate to the United States. During World War II, the U.S.-based Manhattan Project developed nuclear weapons, ushering in the Atomic Age. The Space Race produced rapid advances in rocketry, materials science, and computers. The United States largely developed the ARPANET and its successor, the Internet. Today, the bulk of research and development funding, 64%, comes from the private sector.[111] The United States leads the world in scientific research papers and impact factor.[112] Americans enjoy high levels of access to technological consumer goods,[113] and almost half of U.S. households have broadband Internet service.[114] The country is the primary developer and grower of genetically modified food; more than half of the world's land planted with biotech crops is in the United States.[115]

Transportation Main article: Transportation in the United States

Interstate 80, the second-longest U.S. Interstate highway, runs from California to New Jersey

As of 2003, there were 759 automobiles per 1,000 Americans, compared to 472 per 1,000 inhabitants of the European Union the following year.[116] Approximately 39% of personal vehicles are vans, SUVs, or light trucks.[117] The average American adult (accounting for all drivers and nondrivers) spends 55 minutes behind the wheel every day, driving 29 miles (47 km).[118] The U.S. intercity passenger rail system is relatively weak.[119] Only 9% of total U.S. work trips employ mass transit, compared to 38.8% in Europe.[120] Bicycle usage is minimal, well below European levels.[121] The civil airline industry is entirely privatized, while most major airports are publicly owned. The five largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are all American; American Airlines is number one.[122] Of the world's thirty busiest passenger airports, sixteen are in the United States, including the busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).[123]

Energy Main articles: Energy use in the United States and Energy policy of the United States

The United States energy market is 29,000 terawatt hours per year. Energy consumption per capita is 7.8 tons of oil equivalent per year, compared to Germany's 4.2 tons and Canada's 8.3 tons. In 2005, 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% from coal, and 22% from natural gas. The remainder was supplied by nuclear power and various renewable energy sources.[124] The United States is the world's largest consumer of petroleum.[125] For decades, nuclear power has played a limited role relative to many other developed countries. Recently, applications for new nuclear plants have been filed.[126]

Demographics Main articles: Demographics of the United States and Immigration to the United States

Largest ancestry groups by county, 2000

As of 2008, the United States population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 304,516,000.[127] The U.S. population included an estimated 11.2 million illegal immigrants.[128] The overall growth rate is 0.89%,[1] compared to 0.16% in the European Union.[129] The birth rate of 14.16 per 1,000 is 30% below the world average, while higher than any European country except for Albania and Ireland.[130] In 2006, 1.27 million immigrants were granted legal residence. Mexico has been the leading source of new U.S. residents for over two decades; since 1998, China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year.[131] The United States is the only industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected.[132]

The United States has a very diverse population—thirty-one ancestry groups have more than a million members.[133] Whites are the largest racial group, with German Americans, Irish Americans, and English Americans constituting three of the country's four largest ancestry groups.[133] African Americans constitute the nation's largest racial minority and third largest ancestry group.[134][133] Asian Americans are the country's second largest racial minority; the two largest Asian American ancestry groups are Chinese and Filipino.[133] In 2006, the U.S. population included an estimated 4.5 million people with some American Indian or Alaskan native ancestry (2.9 million exclusively of such ancestry) and over 1 million with some native Hawaiian or Pacific island ancestry (0.5 million exclusively).[134][135]Race/Ethnicity (2006)[134] White 68% African American 12.8% Asian 4.4% Native American and Alaskan Native 1.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.2% Multiracial 1.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 14.8%

The population growth of Hispanic and Latino Americans has been a major demographic trend. Approximately 44 million Americans are of Hispanic descent, with about 64% possessing Mexican ancestry.[136] Between 2000 and 2006, the country's Hispanic population increased 25.5% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 3.5%.[134] Much of this growth is from immigration; as of 2004, 12% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, over half that number from Latin America.[137] Fertility is also a factor; the average Hispanic woman gives birth to three children in her lifetime. The comparable fertility rate is 2.2 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white women (below the replacement rate of 2.1).[132] Hispanics and Latinos accounted for nearly half of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 2005 and July 2006.[138]

About 83% of the population lives in one of the country's 363 metropolitan areas.[139] In 2006, 254 incorporated places in the United States had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than 1 million residents, and four global cities had over 2 million (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston).[140] The United States has fifty metropolitan areas with populations greater than 1 million.[141] Of the fifty fastest-growing metro areas, twenty-three are in the West and twenty-five in the South. Among the country's twenty most populous metro areas, those of Dallas (the fourth largest), Houston (sixth), and Atlanta (ninth) saw the largest numerical gains between 2000 and 2006, while that of Phoenix (thirteenth) grew the largest in percentage terms.[139]Leading population centers Rank Core city State Pop.[140][142] Metro area rank Metro area pop.[141] Region[143]

New York City

Los Angeles 1 New York City New York 8,250,567 1 18,818,536 Northeast 2 Los Angeles California 3,849,378 2 12,950,129 West 3 Chicago Illinois 2,833,321 3 9,505,748 Midwest 4 Houston Texas 2,169,248 6 5,539,949 South 5 Phoenix Arizona 1,512,986 13 4,039,182 West 6 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1,448,394 5 5,826,742 Northeast 7 San Antonio Texas 1,296,682 29 1,942,217 South 8 San Diego California 1,256,951 17 2,941,454 West 9 Dallas Texas 1,232,940 4 6,003,967 South 10 San Jose California 929,936 30 1,787,123 West 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates

Language Main articles: Languages of the United States and Language Spoken at Home (U.S. Census)Languages (2003)[144] English (only) 214.8 million Spanish, incl. Creole 29.7 million Chinese 2.2 million French, incl. Creole 1.9 million Tagalog 1.3 million Vietnamese 1.1 million German 1.1 million

English is the de facto national language. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements—standardize English. In 2003, about 215 million, or 82% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish, spoken by over 10% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught foreign language.[144][145] Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states.[146] Both Hawaiian and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law.[147] While neither has an official language, New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French.[148] Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.[149] Several insular territories grant official recognition to their native languages, along with English: Samoan and Chamorro are recognized by Samoa and Guam, respectively; Carolinian and Chamorro are recognized by the Northern Mariana Islands; Spanish is an official language of Puerto Rico.

Religion Main articles: Religion in the United States, History of religion in the United States, Freedom of religion in the United States, Separation of church and state in the United States, and List of religious movements that began in the United States

A church in the largely Protestant Bible Belt

The United States government does not audit Americans' religious beliefs.[150] In a private survey conducted in 2001, 76.5% of American adults identified themselves as Christian, down from 86.4% in 1990. Protestant denominations accounted for 52% of adult Americans, while Roman Catholics, at 24.5%, were the largest individual denomination.[151] A different study describes white evangelicals, 26.3% of the population, as the country's largest religious cohort;[152] evangelicals of all races are estimated at 30–35%.[153] The total reporting non-Christian religions in 2001 was 3.7%, up from 3.3% in 1990. The leading non-Christian faiths were Judaism (1.4%), Islam (0.5%), Buddhism (0.5%), Hinduism (0.4%), and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%). Between 1990 and 2001, the number of Muslims and Buddhists more than doubled. From 8.2% in 1990, 14.1% in 2001 described themselves as agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion,[151] still significantly less than in other postindustrial countries such as Britain (2005:44%) and Sweden (2001:69%, 2005:85%).[154]

Education Main articles: Education in the United States, Educational attainment in the United States, and Higher education in the United States

The University of Virginia, designed by Thomas Jefferson, is one of 19 American UNESCO World Heritage Sites

American public education is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the United States Department of Education through restrictions on federal grants. Children are required in most states to attend school from the age of six or seven (generally, kindergarten or first grade) until they turn eighteen (generally bringing them through 12th grade, the end of high school); some states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen.[155] About 12% of children are enrolled in parochial or nonsectarian private schools. Just over 2% of children are homeschooled.[156] The United States has many competitive private and public institutions of higher education, as well as local community colleges of varying quality with open admission policies. Of Americans twenty-five and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a bachelor's degree, and 9.6% earned graduate degrees.[157] The basic literacy rate is approximately 99%.[1][158] The United Nations assigns the United States an Education Index of 0.97, tying it for twelfth-best in the world.[159]

Health Main article: Health care in the United States

The American life expectancy of 77.8 years at birth[160] is a year shorter than the overall figure in Western Europe, and three to four years lower than that of Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.[161] Over the past two decades, the country's rank in life expectancy has dropped from 11th to 42nd place in the world.[162] The infant mortality rate of 6.37 per thousand likewise places the United States 42nd out of 221 countries, behind all of Western Europe.[163] U.S. cancer survival rates are the highest in the world.[164] Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight;[165] the obesity rate, the highest in the industrialized world, has more than doubled in the last quarter-century.[166] Obesity-related type 2 diabetes is considered epidemic by healthcare professionals.[167] The U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is nearly four times that of France and five times that of Germany.[168] Abortion in the United States, legal on demand, is a source of great political controversy. Many states ban public funding of the procedure and have laws to restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate a waiting period prior to treatment. While the incidence of abortion is in decline, the U.S. abortion ratio of 241 per 1,000 live births and abortion rate of 15 per 1,000 women aged 15–44 remain higher than those of most Western nations.[169]

The Texas Medical Center in Houston, the world's largest medical center[170]

The United States healthcare system far outspends any other nation's, measured in both per capita spending and percentage of GDP.[171] Unlike most developed countries, the U.S. healthcare system is not universal, and relies on a higher proportion of private funding. In 2004, private insurance paid for 36% of personal health expenditure, private out-of-pocket payments covered 15%, and federal, state, and local govern

Philadelphia — City — The City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia skyline, August 2007

Flag Seal

Nickname(s): "City of Brotherly Love","The City that Loves you Back", "Cradle of Liberty", "The Quaker City", "The Birthplace of America", "Philly" Motto: "Philadelphia maneto" - "Let brotherly love endure"

Location in Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 39°57′12″N 75°10′12″W Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government - Mayor Michael Nutter (D) Area - City 135 sq mi (349.6 km²) - Land 127.4 sq mi (326.144 km²) - Water 7.6 sq mi (19.6 km²) - Urban 1,799.5 sq mi (4,660.7 km²) - Metro 4,629 sq mi (11,989 km²) Elevation 39 ft (12 m) Population (July 1st, 2007) - City 1,449,634 (6th) - Density 10,882.8/sq mi (4,201.8/km²) - Urban 5,325,000 - Metro 5,823,233 Time zone EST (UTC-5) - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) Area code(s) 215, 267 Website: http://www.phila.gov Phil

Philadelphia (pronounced /ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə/), commonly referred to as Philly but officially and formally The City of Philadelphia, is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth most populous city in the United States. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th most populous city in the world. It is the county seat of Philadelphia County. A popular nickname for Philadelphia is The City of Brotherly Love (from Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια, [pʰi.la.ˈdel.pʰeː.a], Modern Greek: [fi.la'ðɛl.fi.a], "brotherly love" from philos, "love", and adelphos "brother"). The city is recognized as a strong candidate global city.

In 2005, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million,[1] while the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, with a population of 5.8 million, was the fifth-largest in the United States. A commercial, educational, and cultural center, the city was once the second-largest in the British Empire,[2] (after London) and the social and geographical center of the original 13 American colonies. During the 18th century, it eclipsed New York City in political and social importance, with Benjamin Franklin taking a large role in Philadelphia's early rise to prominence. It was in this city that some of the ideas, and subsequent actions, gave birth to the American Revolution and American independence, making Philadelphia a centerpiece of early American history. It was the most populous city of the young United States and served as the the nation's first capital in 1774.

History Main article: History of Philadelphia

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Philadelphia area was the location of the Lenape (Delaware) Indian village Shackamaxon. Europeans arrived in the Delaware Valley in the early 1600s, with the first settlements founded by the Dutch, British and Swedish.

The Swedes sought to expand their influence by creating an agricultural (tobacco) and fur-trading colony to bypass French and British merchants. The New Sweden Company was chartered and included Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders. The first Swedish expedition to North America embarked from the port of Gothenburg in late 1637. It was organized and overseen by Clas Fleming, a Swedish admiral from Finland. Part of this colony, called New Sweden or Nya Sverige eventually included land on the west side of the Delaware River from just below the Schuylkill River: in other words, today's Philadelphia, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.

In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their victory in a war against the English province of Maryland. A series of events led the Dutch — led by governor Peter Stuyvesant — to move an army to the Delaware River in the late summer of 1655. Though New Netherland now nominally controlled the colony, the Swedish and Finnish settlers continued to enjoy a degree of local autonomy, having their own militia, religion, court, and lands. This status lasted officially until the English conquest of the New Netherland colony, in October 1663-1664, and continued unofficially until the area was included in William Penn's charter for Pennsylvania, in 1682.

In 1681, as part of a repayment of a debt, Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for what would become the Pennsylvania colony. Part of Penn's plan for the colony was to create a city on the Delaware River to serve as a port and place for government. Despite already having been given the land by Charles II, Penn bought the land from the local Lenape to be on good terms with the Native Americans and ensure peace for his colony.[3] According to legend Penn made a treaty of friendship with Lenape chief Tammany under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, in what is now the city's Kensington section.[4] As a Quaker, Penn had experienced religious persecution and wanted his colony to be a place where anyone could worship freely despite their religion. Penn named the city Philadelphia, which is Greek for brotherly love (philos, "love" or "friendship", and adelphos, "brother").[5]

"Penn's Treaty with the Indians" by Benjamin West.

Benjamin Franklin

Penn's plan was that Philadelphia would be like an English rural town instead of a city. The city's roads were designed with a grid plan with the idea that houses and businesses would be spread far apart and surrounded by gardens and orchards. The city's inhabitants didn't follow Penn's plans and crowded by the Delaware River and subdivided and resold their lots.[6] Before Penn left Philadelphia for the last time, he issued the Charter of 1701 establishing Philadelphia as a city. The city soon grew and established itself as an important trading center. Conditions in the city were poor at first, but by the 1750s living conditions had improved. A significant contributor to Philadelphia at the time was Benjamin Franklin. Franklin helped improve city services and founded new ones, such as the American Colonies' first hospital.[7] Due to Philadelphia's central location in the colonies, during the American Revolution the city was used as the location for the First Continental Congress before the war, the Second Continental Congress, which signed the United States Declaration of Independence, during the war, and the Constitutional Convention after the war. A number of battles during the war were fought in Philadelphia and its environs as well. Unsuccessful lobbying after the war to make Philadelphia the United States capital helped make the city the temporary U.S. capital in the 1790s.[8]

The state government left Philadelphia in 1799 and the federal government left soon after in 1800. However Philadelphia was still the largest city in the United States and a financial and cultural center. New York City soon surpassed Philadelphia in population, but construction of roads, canals, and railroads helped turn Philadelphia into the United States' first major industrial city. Throughout the 19th century Philadelphia had a large variety of industries and businesses, the largest being textiles. Major corporations in the 19th and early 20th centuries included the Baldwin Locomotive Works, William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company, and the Pennsylvania Railroad.[9] Industry, along with the U.S. Centennial, was celebrated in 1876 with the Centennial Exposition, the first official World's Fair in the United States. Immigrants, mostly German and Irish, settled in Philadelphia and the surrounding districts. The rise in population of the surrounding districts helped lead to the Act of Consolidation of 1854 which extended the city of Philadelphia to include all of Philadelphia County.[10] In the later half of the century immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe and Italy and African Americans from the southern U.S. settled in the city.[11]

8th and Market Street, showing the Strawbridge and Clothier department store, 1910s.

By the 20th century Philadelphia had become known as "corrupt and contented." Philadelphians were content with the city's lack of change or excitement, and single-party politics, centered on the city's entrenched Republican political machine, allowed corruption to flourish. The machine and corruption permeated in all parts of city government and reformers had little success.[12] The first major success in reform came in 1917 when outrage over the murder of a police officer during that year's election led to the shrinking of the Philadelphia City Council from two houses to just one.[13] In the 1920s the public flouting of Prohibition laws, mob violence, and police involvement in illegal activities led to the appointment of Brigadier General Smedley Butler of the U.S. Marine Corps as director of public safety, but political pressure prevented any long term success in fighting crime and corruption.[14]

After struggling through the Great Depression, World War II created jobs and brought the city out of the Depression. However, after the war there was a severe housing shortage with about half the city's housing being built in the 19th century, many of which lacked proper facilities. Adding to housing problem was white flight, as African Americans and Puerto Ricans moved into new neighborhoods resulting in racial tension.[15] After a population peak of over two million residents in 1950 the city's population declined while the suburban neighboring counties grew. After a five year investigation into corruption into city government, the outcry with what the investigation found led the drafting of a new city charter in 1950. The city charter strengthened the position of the mayor and weakened the city council among other changes to help prevent the corruption of the past. The first Democratic mayor since the first half of the 19th century was elected in 1951. However, after two early reform mayors, a Democratic political organization had established itself replacing the old Republican one.[16]

Protests, riots and racial tensions were common in the 1960s and 70s. Mostly drug related gang violence plagued the city. In the mid 1980s, crack houses invaded the city's slums. Confrontations between police and the radical group MOVE culminated when the police dropped a satchel bomb on their headquarters starting a fire that killed eleven MOVE members and destroyed sixty-two neighboring houses. Revitalization and gentrification of neighborhoods began in the 1960s and continues into the 21st century, with much of the development in the Center City and University City areas of the city. After many of the old manufacturers and businesses had left Philadelphia or shut down, the city started attracting service businesses and began to more aggressively market itself as a tourist destination. Glass and granite skyscrapers were built in Center City. Historic areas such as Independence National Historical Park located in Society Hill were resuscitated during the reformist mayoral era of the 1950s through the 1980s and are now among the most desirable living areas of Center City. This has slowed the city's forty-year population decline after losing nearly a quarter of its population.[17][18]

[edit] Geography

[edit] Topography

A simulated-color satellite image of Philadelphia taken on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite. The Delaware River is visible in this shot.

Philadelphia is located at 40° 00′ north latitude and 75° 09′ west longitude. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 142.6 square miles (369.3 km2), of which 135.1 square miles (349.9 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (19.7 km2), or 5.29%, is water. Bodies of water include the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, and Cobbs, Wissahickon, and Pennypack Creeks.

The lowest point is sea level, while the highest point is in Chestnut Hill, at approximately 445 feet (136 m) above sea level (near the intersection of Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike).[19]

Philadelphia is located on the Fall Line separating the Atlantic Coastal Plain from the Piedmont.[20] The rapids on the Schuylkill River at East Falls disappeared after the completion of the Fairmount Dam.[21]

The city is the seat of its own county. The adjacent counties are Montgomery to the north; Bucks to the northeast; Burlington County, New Jersey to the east; Camden County, New Jersey to the southeast; Gloucester County, New Jersey to the south; and Delaware County to the west. Pennsylvania Main Line Jenkintown Bristol v • d • e

Upper Darby Camden, New Jersey Philadelphia

Chester Glassboro, New Jersey Cherry Hill, New Jersey

[edit] Climate

Philadelphia falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing moderate snow and others bringing some significant snowstorms. Annual snowfall averages 21 inches (534 mm). Precipitation is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to eleven wet days per month,[22] at an average annual rate of 42 inches (1068 mm).

January lows average 23 °F (−5 °C) and highs average 38 °F (3 °C). The lowest officially recorded temperature was −11 °F (−24 °C) on February 9, 1934,[23] but temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) occur only a few times a decade. July lows average 67 °F (20 °C) and highs average 87 °F (30.5 °C)[24], although heat waves accompanied by high humidity are frequent with highs above 95 °F (35 °C) and the heat index running as high as 110 °F (43 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on August 7, 1918.[25] Early fall and late winter are generally driest, with February being the driest month, averaging only 2.74 inches (69.8 mm) of precipitation.[hide] Weather averages for Philadelphia Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °F (°C) 74 (23) 74 (23) 85 (29) 94 (34) 97 (36) 100 (38) 104 (40) 101 (38) 100 (38) 89 (32) 84 (29) 72 (22) 104 (40) Average high °F (°C) 39 (4) 42 (6) 51 (11) 63 (17) 73 (23) 82 (28) 86 (30) 85 (29) 78 (26) 67 (19) 55 (13) 44 (7) 64 (18) Average low °F (°C) 24 (-4) 26 (-3) 33 (1) 43 (6) 53 (12) 62 (17) 68 (20) 66 (19) 59 (15) 47 (8) 38 (3) 29 (-2) 46 (8) Record low °F (°C) -7 (-22) -4 (-20) 7 (-14) 19 (-7) 28 (-2) 44 (7) 51 (11) 44 (7) 35 (2) 25 (-4) 15 (-9) 1 (-17) -7 (-22) Precipitation inches (mm) 3.2 (81.3) 2.8 (71.1) 3.7 (94) 3.4 (86.4) 3.6 (91.4) 3.4 (86.4) 4.2 (106.7) 3.9 (99.1) 3.3 (83.8) 2.7 (68.6) 3.3 (83.8) 3.3 (83.8) 40.9 (1,038.9) Source: Weatherbase[26] 2007-03-23

[edit] Cityscape

[edit] Neighborhoods

A street in the Washington Square West neighborhood. See also: List of Philadelphia neighborhoods

Philadelphia has many neighborhoods, each with its own identity. The large Philadelphia sections, North, Northeast, Northwest, West, South and Southwest Philadelphia surround Center City, which falls within the original city limits prior to consolidation in 1854. Numerous smaller neighborhoods within the areas coincide with the boroughs, townships, and other communities that made up Philadelphia County before their absorption by the city. Other neighborhoods formed based on ethnicity, religion, culture, and commercial reasons.[27]

[edit] Architecture

Row houses in West Philadelphia. Main article: Buildings and architecture of Philadelphia See also: List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia

Philadelphia's architectural history dates back to Colonial times and includes a wide range of styles. The earliest structures were constructed with logs, but brick structures were common by 1700. During the 18th century, the cityscape was dominated by Georgian architecture, including Independence Hall. In the first decades of the 19th century, Federal architecture and Greek Revival architecture were popular.[28] In the second half of the 19th century, Victorian architecture was common. In 1871, construction began on the Second Empire-style Philadelphia City Hall. Despite the construction of steel and concrete skyscrapers in the 1910s, '20s and '30s, the 548 ft (167 m) City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until 1987 when One Liberty Place was constructed. Numerous glass and granite skyscrapers were built from the late 1980s onwards. In 2007, the Comcast Center surpassed One Liberty Place to become the city's tallest building.[29]

The Philadelphia skyline from City Hall looking towards Liberty Place (2005, before construction of Comcast Center).

For much of Philadelphia's history, the typical Philadelphia home has been the row house. The row house was introduced to the United States via Philadelphia in the early 1800s and, for a time, row houses built elsewhere in the United States were known as "Philadelphia rows".[30] There is a variety of row houses throughout the city from Victorian-style homes in North Philadelphia to twin row houses in West Philadelphia. While newer homes are scattered throughout the city, much of Philadelphia's housing is from the early 20th century or older. The age of the city's homes has created numerous problems which has led to blight and vacant lots in many parts of the city, while other neighborhoods such as Society Hill, which has the largest concentration of 18th-century architecture in the United States, have been rehabilitated and gentrified.[31][32]

[edit] Culture Main article: Culture of Philadelphia See also: List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Independence Hall in Philadelphia

Philadelphia contains many national historical sites that relate to the founding of the United States. Independence National Historical Park is the center of these historical landmarks. Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Liberty Bell are the city's most famous attractions. Other historic sites include homes for Edgar Allan Poe, Betsy Ross, and Thaddeus Kosciuszko, early government buildings like the First and Second Banks of the United States, and the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church National Historic Site.[33]

Philadelphia's major science museums include the Franklin Institute, which contains the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. History museums include the National Constitution Center, the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia History, the National Museum of American Jewish History, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in the state of Pennsylvania and The Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania and Eastern State Penitentiary. Philadelphia is home to the United States' first zoo and hospital. See also: List of sites of interest in Philadelphia

[edit] Arts

Two statues, The Amazon and Rocky, outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The city contains many art museums such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Rodin Museum, the largest collection of work by Auguste Rodin outside of France. The city’s major art museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is one of the largest art museums in the United States and features the steps made popular by the film Rocky.[34]

The city is home to many art galleries, many of which participate in the First Friday event. The first Friday of every month galleries in Old City are open late. Annual events include film festivals and parades, the most famous being the New Year's Day Mummers Parade.

Areas such as South Street and Old City have a vibrant night life. The Avenue of the Arts in Center City contains many restaurants and theaters, such as the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which is home to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Academy of Music, the nation's oldest continually operating venue, home to the Opera Company of Philadelphia.[34]

James Peniston's Keys To Community in the Old City neighborhood, one of the city's many public artworks featuring images of Benjamin Franklin. Location: 39.952414, -75.146301

Philadelphia has more public art than any other American city.[35] In 1872, the Fairmount Park Art Association was created, the first private association in the United States dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning.[36] In 1959, lobbying by the Artists Equity Association helped create the Percent for Art ordinance, the first for a U.S. city.[37] The program, which has funded more than 200 pieces of public art, is administered by the Philadelphia Office of Arts and Culture, the city's art agency.[38]

In particular, Philadelphia has more murals than any other U.S. city, thanks in part to the 1984 creation of the Department of Recreation's Mural Arts Program, which seeks to beautify neighborhoods and provide an outlet for graffiti artists. The program has funded more than 2,700 murals by professional, staff and volunteer artists.[39]

Philadelphia has had a prominent role in music. In the 1970s, Philadelphia soul influenced the music of that and later eras. On July 13, 1985, Philadelphia hosted the American end of the Live Aid concert at John F. Kennedy Stadium. The city reprised this role for the Live 8 concert, bringing some 700,000 people to the Ben Franklin Parkway on July 2, 2005.[40]

[edit] Cuisine Main article: Cuisine of Philadelphia

The city is known for its hoagies, scrapple, soft pretzels, water ice, and is home to the cheesesteak. Its high-end restaurants include Morimoto, run by chef Masaharu Morimoto, who rose to prominence on the Iron Chef television show.

[edit] Sports Main article: Sports in Philadelphia See also: U.S. cities with teams from four major sports

Philadelphia has a long history of professional sports teams, and is one of thirteen U.S. cities to have all four major sports: the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League, the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League of Major League Baseball, and the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association. The last major professional sport team to win a championship was the 76ers, which won the NBA Championship in 1983. Due to the length of this streak without winning a sports championship, in 2004 ESPN ranked Philadelphia as number two in its list of The Fifteen Most Tortured Sports Cities.[41] The failure of Philadelphia's major professional sports teams to win championships since that date is sometimes attributed, in jest, to the so-called "Curse of Billy Penn". The Oakland Athletics and Golden State Warriors were originally from Philadelphia.

Philadelphia also is home to professional, semi-professional and elite amateur teams in other sports, including cricket. Philadelphia also hosts other major sporting events, including the Penn Relays, Stotesbury Cup, Philadelphia Marathon, and Philadelphia International Championship bicycle race, and the Dad Vail Regatta.

Philadelphia is also known for the Philadelphia Big 5, a group of five Division I college basketball programs: Big 5 are Saint Joseph's University, University of Pennsylvania, La Salle University, Temple University, and Villanova University. The sixth NCAA Division I school in Philadelphia is Drexel University. At least one of the teams is competitive nearly every year and at least one team has made the NCAA tournament for the past four decades.

In February 2008, Philadelphia beat out competition from several other cities, namely St. Louis, to be awarded the 16th Major League Soccer franchise. They will enter the league in 2010 calling Chester Stadium their home (a soccer specific stadium) in Chester, PA.

Philadelphia is also home to New Alhambra Arena, the birthplace of Extreme Championship Wrestling and current home to multiple wrestling and boxing promotions.Club League Sport Venue Established Championships Philadelphia Eagles NFL American Football Lincoln Financial Field 1933 1948, 1949, 1960 Philadelphia Flyers NHL Ice Hockey Wachovia Center 1967 1973-74, 1974-75 Philadelphia Phillies MLB Baseball Citizens Bank Park 1883 1980 Philadelphia 76ers NBA Basketball Wachovia Center 1963 1966-67, 1982-83 MLS Philadelphia 2010 MLS Soccer Chester Stadium (in Chester, Pennsylvania) 2010 none Philadelphia Wings NLL Lacrosse (Indoor) Wachovia Center 1987 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL Ice Hockey Wachovia Spectrum 1996 1997-98, 2004-05 Philadelphia Soul AFL Arena Football Wachovia Center & Spectrum 2004 2008 Philadelphia Barrage MLL Lacrosse (Outdoor) N/A 2001 2004, 2006, 2007 Philadelphia KiXX MISL Soccer (Indoor) Wachovia Spectrum 1995 2001-02, 2006-07 Philadelphia WPS team WPS Soccer Chester Stadium (in Chester, Pennsylvania) 2010 none Philadelphia Fight AMNRL Rugby League Farrell Stadium (West Chester University) 1998 none Philadelphia Freedoms WTT Tennis King of Prussia Mall 1974 2001, 2006

[edit] Economy

Comcast Center, Philadelphia's newest office building.

Philadelphia's economy is relatively diversified, with meaningful portions of its total output derived from manufacturing, oil refining, food processing, health care and biotechnology, tourism and financial services. According to a study prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Philadelphia and its surrounding region had the fourth highest GDP among American cities, with a total "city GDP" of $312 billion in 2005 [42]. Only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago had higher total economic output levels.

The city is home to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and several Fortune 500 companies, including cable television and internet provider Comcast, insurance companies CIGNA and Lincoln Financial Group, energy company Sunoco, food services company Aramark, Crown Holdings Incorporated, chemical makers Rohm and Haas Company and FMC Corporation, pharmaceutical companies Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline, Boeing helicopters division, and automotive parts retailer Pep Boys. Early in the 20th Century, it was also home to the pioneering brass era automobile company Biddle.[43]

The federal government has several facilities in Philadelphia as well. The city served as the capital city of the United States, before the construction of Washington, D.C. Today, the East Coast operations of the United States Mint are based near the historic district, and the Federal Reserve Bank's Philadelphia division is based there as well. Philadelphia is also home to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Partly because of the historical presence of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the large ridership at 30th Street Station, Amtrak also maintains a significant presence in the city. These jobs include customer service representatives and ticket processing and other behind-the-scenes personnel, in addition to the normal functions of the railroad.

Baltimore Avenue towards Center City.

The city is also a national center of law because of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Villanova University School of Law, Widener University School of Law, and Earle Mack School of Law. Additionally, the headquarters of the American Law Institute is located in the city.

Philadelphia is also an important center for medicine, a distinction that it has held since the colonial period. The city is home to the first hospital in the British North American colonies, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the first medical school in what is now the United States, at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Penn, the city's largest private employer, also runs a large teaching hospital and extensive medical system. There are also major hospitals affiliated with Temple University School of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, and Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia also has three distinguished children's hospitals: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the nation's first pediatric hospital (located adjacent to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania), St. Christopher's Hospital, and the Shriners' Hospital. In the city's northwest section are Albert Einstein Hospital, and in the northeast section, Fox Chase Cancer Center. Together, healthcare is the largest sector of employment in the city. Several medical professional associations are headquartered in Philadelphia.

In part because of Philadelphia's long-running importance as a center for medical research, the region is a major center for the pharmaceutical industry. GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Wyeth, Merck, GE Healthcare, Johnson and Johnson and Siemens Medical Solutions are just some of the large pharmaceutical companies with operations in the region. The city is also home to the nation's first school of pharmacy, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, now called the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. See also: List of companies based in the Philadelphia area

[edit] Shopping

Italian Market, South Philadelphia

Center City is home to The Gallery at Market East, The Shops at Liberty Place and The Shops at the Bellevue, and a variety of standalone retail stores. Rittenhouse Row, a section of Walnut Street in Center City, has higher-end stores and boutiques. Old City and Society Hill, as well, feature upscale boutiques and retailers from local and international merchandisers. Philadelphia also has several neighborhood shopping districts, including Manayunk and Chestnut Hill. Also noteworthy is South Street with blocks of inexpensive boutiques.

The Italian Market in South Philadelphia offers groceries, meats, cheeses and housewares from Italy and other countries. Geno's and Pat's, two famed cheesesteak outlets, are located here. The Reading Terminal Market in Center City includes dozens of restaurants, farm stalls, and shops, many run by Amish farmers from Lancaster County. There are also neighborhood farmers' markets throughout the city.

There are also several large outlet malls in the region, including Franklin Mills in Northeast Philadelphia and King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; seven miles outside of Philadelphia. Franklin Mills offers shoppers tax-free clothing and shoes due to its location within the city's boundaries and saw an estimated 18 million visitors in 2006. The King of Prussia Mall is the largest shopping mall on the East Coast of the United States,[44] and the largest shopping mall in the country in terms of leasable retail space.

Philadelphia is the birthplace of the secondary ticket marketplace. Wanamaker Ticket Office, located in Center City, is among the nation's oldest ticket agencies.

[edit] Media Main article: Media of Philadelphia

Philadelphia's two major daily newspapers are The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, both of which are owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C. The Philadelphia Inquirer, founded in 1829, is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States.[45] The Bulletin, another newspaper that operates in Philadelphia, traces its history back to The Philadelphia Bulletin that went defunct in 1982. The Bulletin is locally owned by The Bulletin, Inc.

The Inquirer Building on North Broad Street.

The first experimental radio license was issued in Philadelphia in August, 1912 to St. Joseph's College. The first commercial radio stations appeared in 1922. WIP, then owned by Gimbel's department store, became the first on March 17 of that year. Also launched that year were WFIL, WOO, WCAU and WDAS.[46] The highest-rated stations in Philadelphia include soft rock WBEB, KYW Newsradio, and urban adult contemporary WDAS-FM.

During the 1930s, the experimental station W3XE, which was owned by Philco Corp, became the first television station in Philadelphia. The station, which would later become KYW-TV (CBS), became NBC's first affiliate in 1939. By the 1970s WCAU-TV, WPVI-TV, WHYY-TV, WPHL-TV, and WTXF-TV were founded.[46] In 1952 WFIL (now WPVI), premiered the television show Bandstand, which later became the nationally broadcast show American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark.[47] Today, as in many large metropolitan areas, each of the commercial networks has an affiliate, and call letters have been replaced by corporate IDs: CBS3, 6ABC, NBC10, FOX29, Telefutura28, Telemundo62, Univision65, plus My PHL 17 and CW Philly 57. On the public media side, the Philadelphia region is served by WYBE-TV (Philadelphia), WHYY-TV (Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia), WLVT-TV (Lehigh Valley), and New Jersey Network. In September, 2007, Philadelphia approved a public access cable channel. On the radio side, Philadelphia is served by three large public radio stations, plus several smaller ones; the larger ones are WHYY-FM (NPR), WRTI (jazz, classical), and WXPN-FM (adult alternative music).

Philadelphia has a competitive rock radio market, especially between WMMR and WYSP, which both specialize in playing modern and classic rock. The two stations enjoy a very intense rivalry. Since 2005, WMMR now plays more music due to a shift in WYSP's programming from a rock station (which also carried controversial shock jock Howard Stern) to a Free FM station (which now carries the Kidd Chris morning show). WYSP also carries live radio broadcasts of all Philadelphia Eagles home and road games. WMMR has the top rated morning show in the Philadelphia area, The Preston and Steve Show, which has been at the top of the ratings since Howard Stern left for Sirius Radio.

Philadelphia's four urban stations (WUSL ("Power 99"), WPHI ("100.3 The Beat"), WDAS and WRNB) are popular choices on the FM dial. WJJZ is the city's "smooth jazz" station. When WJJZ was discontinued in August 2006, it caused an uproar among listeners, but it was revived three months later, under new ownership (Greater Media) from Burlington, NJ radio station WJJZ, on a new frequency (97.5). The former WJJZ is now WISX, "Philly's 106.1".

[edit] Innovation

Philadelphia is home to many "first-in-America" institutions, including:[48][49]Fire insurance company Botanical garden Public library Hospital Fire engine Fire company Medical school Pharmacy School Pediatric hospital Cancer hospital Eye hospital University Art school & museum Municipal water system Post office Bank Stock exchange Mint Zoo Electronic Computer Savings Bank ECW First Title Insurance Company in America

[edit] Demographics Main article: Demographics of PhiladelphiaHistorical populations Census Pop. %± 1790 28,522 — 1800 41,220 44.5% 1810 53,722 30.3% 1820 63,802 18.8% 1830 80,462 26.1% 1840 93,665 16.4% 1850 121,376 29.6% 1860 565,529 365.9% 1870 674,022 19.2% 1880 847,170 25.7% 1890 1,046,964 23.6% 1900 1,293,697 23.6% 1910 1,549,008 19.7% 1920 1,823,779 17.7% 1930 1,950,961 7% 1940 1,931,334 −1% 1950 2,071,605 7.3% 1960 2,002,512 −3.3% 1970 1,948,609 −2.7% 1980 1,688,210 −13.4% 1990 1,585,577 −6.1% 2000 1,517,550 −4.3% Est. 2007 1,449,634 −4.5%

As of the census[50] of 2000, there were 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households, and 352,272 families residing in the city. The population density was 11,233.6/square mile (4,337.3/km²). There were 661,958 housing units at an average density of 4,900.1/sq mi (1,891.9/km²). As of the 2004 Census estimations, there were 1,463,281 people, 658,799 housing units, and the racial makeup of the city was 45.2% African American, 43.0% White, 5.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.8% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.5% of the population. The top 5 largest ancestries include Irish (13.6%), Italian (9.2%), German (8.1%), Polish (4.3%), and English (2.9%).[51]

Of the 590,071 households, 27.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,746, and the median income for a family was $37,036. Males had a median income of $34,199 versus $28,477 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,509. About 18.4% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Philadelphia has the second largest Irish, Italian, and Jamaican populations and the fourth largest African American population in the nation. Philadelphia also has the fourth largest population of Polish residents. In recent years, the Hispanic and Asian American populations have significantly increased. Hispanics have settled throughout the city, especially around El Centro de Oro, and the city now has the third largest Puerto Rican population in the continental United States. The Asian population was once concentrated in the city's thriving Chinatown, but now Korean Americans have come to Olney, and Vietnamese have forged bazaars next to the Italian Market in South Philadelphia. Concentrations of Cambodian American neighborhoods can be found in North and South Philadelphia. Indians and Arabs have come to Northeast Philadelphia along with Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. This large influx of Asians has given Philadelphia one of the largest populations of Vietnamese, Cambodians, Chinese, and Koreans in United States. The Philadelphia region also has the fourth largest population of Indian Americans. The West Indian population is concentrated in Cedar Park. Germans, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, English, Pakistanis, Iranians, and also immigrants from the former Yugoslavia along with other ethnic groups can be found throughout the city.

[edit] Government

City Hall decorated.

From a governmental perspective, Philadelphia County is a legal nullity, as all county functions were assumed by the city in 1952, which has been coterminous with the county since 1854.

The city uses the "strong-mayor" version of the mayor-council form of government, which is headed by one mayor, in whom executive authority is vested. Elected "at-large," the mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms under the city's home rule charter, but can run for the position again after an intervening term. The current city mayor, having taken office in January 2008, is Michael Nutter, replacing John F. Street who served two terms from 1999 to the end of 2007. Nutter, as all Philadelphia mayors have been since 1952, is a member of the Democratic Party, which tends to dominate local politics so thoroughly that the Democratic primary for mayor is often more noticeable than the general mayoral election. The legislative branch, the Philadelphia City Council, consists of ten council members representing individual districts and seven members elected at large. The current council president is Anna C. Verna.

The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, is the trial court of general jurisdiction for Philadelphia. It is funded and operated largely by city resources and employees. The Philadelphia Municipal Court handles matters of limited jurisdiction as well as landlord-tenant disputes, appeals from traffic court, preliminary hearings for felony-level offenses, and the like. Traffic Court is a court of special jurisdiction that hears violations of traffic laws.

Pennsylvania's three appellate courts also have sittings in Philadelphia. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the court of last resort in the state, regularly hears arguments in Philadelphia City Hall. Also, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania sit in Philadelphia several times a year. Judges for these courts are elected at large. Each court has a prothonotary's office in Philadelphia as well.

The Philadelphia Historical Commission was created in 1955 to preserve the cultural, social, political, economic and architectural history of the city. The commission maintains the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, adding historic buildings, structures, sites, objects and districts as it sees fit.[52]

The Philadelphia Housing Authority is the largest landlord in the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Established in 1937, it is the nation’s fourth-largest housing authority, housing approximately 84,000 people and employing 1,250. In 2006, its budget was $313 million.[53]

[edit] Politics and elections See also: List of mayors of Philadelphia Presidential election resultsYear Republican Democratic 2004 19.3% 130,099 80.4% 542,205 2000 18.0% 100,959 80.0% 449,182 1996 16.0% 85,345 77.5% 412,988 1992 20.9% 133,328 68.2% 434,904 1988 32.5% 219,053 66.6% 449,566 1984 34.6% 267,178 64.9% 501,369 1980 34.0% 244,108 58.7% 421,253 1976 32.0% 239,000 66.3% 494,579 1972 43.4% 340,096 55.1% 431,736 1968 30.0% 254,153 61.8% 525,768 1964 26.2% 239,733 73.4% 670,645 1960 31.8% 291,000 68.0% 622,544

As of November 2007, there are 992,696 registered voters in Philadelphia.[54] Democratic: 749,652 (75.52%) Republican: 150,477 (15.16%) Other Parties: 92,567 (9.32%)

From the American Civil War until the mid-20th century, Philadelphia was a bastion of the Republican Party, which arose from the staunch pro-Northern views of Philadelphia residents during and after the war. After the Great Depression, Democratic registrations increased, but the city was not carried by Democratic Franklin D. Roosevelt in his landslide victory of 1932 (in which Pennsylvania was one of the few states won by Republican Herbert Hoover). While other Northern industrial cities were electing Democratic mayors in the 1930s and 1940s, Philadelphia did not follow suit until 1951. That is, Philadelphia never had a "New Deal" coalition.

The city is now one of the most Democratic in the country, despite the frequent election of Republicans to statewide offices since the 1930s; in 2004, Democrat John Kerry drew 80% of the city's vote.

Philadelphia once comprised six congressional districts. However, as a result of the city's declining population, it now has only four: the 1st district, represented by Bob Brady; the 2nd, represented by Chaka Fattah; the 8th, represented by Patrick Murphy; and the 13th, represented by Allyson Schwartz. All four are Democrats; no Republican has represented a significant portion of Philadelphia since 1983. However, Pennsylvania's Republican Senator, Arlen Specter, is from Philadelphia.

[edit] Crime Main article: Crime in Philadelphia

Like many American cities, Philadelphia saw a gradual yet pronounced rise in crime in the years following World War II. Murders peaked in 1990 at 525, for a rate of 31.5 per 100,000. There were an average of about 400 murders a year for most of the 1990s. The murder count dropped in 2002 to 288, then surged four years later to 406.[55] Out of the ten most populous cities in the United States in 2006, Philadelphia had the highest homicide rate at 28 per 100,000 people, though the number of murders decreased to 392 in 2007.[56]

In 2004, there were 5,513.5 crimes per 100,000 people in Philadelphia.[57] In 2005, Philadelphia was ranked by Morgan Quitno as the sixth-most dangerous among 32 American cities with populations over 500,000. Among its neighboring Mid-Atlantic cities in the same population group, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. were ranked second- and third-most dangerous cities in the United States, respectively, and Camden, New Jersey, a suburb across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, was ranked as the most dangerous city in the United States.[58]

In 2006, Camden was the fifth-most dangerous city in the country, lower than its 2004 ranking, but still high for a city its size, while Philadelphia was ranked 29th.[59]

On September 12, 2007, police commissioner Sylvester Johnson called on 10,000 African American men to patrol the streets to lessen crime. Johnson, who is black, set up "Call to Action: 10,000 Men, It's a New Day" in response to the city's disproportionate homicide rate of young African Americans. Dennis Muhammad, Nation of Islam official, and Mayor John F. Street supported the project. The program was to begin on October 21.[60]

[edit] Education Main article: Education in Philadelphia

University of Pennsylvania

Saint Joseph's University

Education in Philadelphia is provided by many private and public institutions. The School District of Philadelphia runs the city's public schools. The Philadelphia School District is the eighth largest school district in the United States with 210,432 students in 346 public and charter schools.[61]

Philadelphia is one of the largest college towns in the United States and has the second-largest student concentration on the East Coast with over 120,000 college and university students enrolled within the city and nearly 300,000 in the metropolitan area. There are over 80 colleges, universities, trade, and specialty schools in the Philadelphia region. Schools within the city's borders include University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Temple University, Saint Joseph's University, Peirce College, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, The University of the Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Thomas Jefferson University, Moore College of Art and Design, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, La Salle University, Philadelphia University, Chestnut Hill College, Holy Family University, and Community College of Philadelphia.

[edit] Infrastructure

30th Street Station, with Cira Centre in the background and statues on the Market Street Bridge over Schuylkill River in the foreground.

Philadelphia is served by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, which operates buses, trains, rapid transit, trolleys, and trackless trolleys throughout Philadelphia, the four Pennsylvania suburban counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, in addition to service to Mercer County, New Jersey and New Castle County, Delaware. The city's subway system, first opened in 1907, is the third oldest in America.

One of the seven SEPTA Regional Rail lines, Route R-1, offers direct service to the Philadelphia International Airport.

Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is a major railroad station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, which offers access to Amtrak, SEPTA, and New Jersey Transit lines.

The PATCO provides rapid transit service to Camden, Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield, Woodcrest (Cherry Hill), Ashland (Voorhees), and Lindenwold, New Jersey, from stations on Locust Street between 16th and 15th, 13th and 12th, and 10th and 9th Streets, and on Market Street at 8th Street.

In addition, China Airlines provides a private bus service to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport from the Holy Redeemer Church in the Philadelphia Chinatown to feed its flight to Taipei, Taiwan.[62]

[edit] Airports

Two airports serve Philadelphia: the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), straddling the southern boundary of the city, and the Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), a general aviation reliever airport in Northeast Philadelphia. Philadelphia International Airport provides scheduled domestic and international air service, while Northeast Philadelphia Airport serves general and corporate aviation. As of March 2006, Philadelphia International Airport was the 10th largest airport measured by "traffic movements" (i.e. takeoffs and landings), and was also a primary hub for US Airways.[63]

[edit] Roads

The Schuylkill Expressway, approaching Center City from the North.

Interstate 95 runs through the city along the Delaware River as a main north-south artery. The city is also served by the Schuylkill Expressway, a portion of Interstate 76 that runs along the Schuylkill River. It meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, providing access to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and points west. Interstate 676, the Vine Street Expressway, was completed in 1991 after years of planning. A link between I-95 and I-76, it runs below street level through Center City, connecting to the Ben Franklin Bridge at its eastern end.

Looking down on I-95 from the South Street bridge.

Roosevelt Boulevard and the Roosevelt Expressway (U.S. 1) connect Northeast Philadelphia with Center City. Woodhaven Road (PA Route 63), built in 1966, serves the neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia, running between Interstate 95 and the Roosevelt Boulevard (U.S. 1). The Fort Washington Expressway (Pennsylvania Route 309) extends north from the city's northern border, serving Montgomery County and Bucks County

Interstate 476, commonly nicknamed the "Blue Route" through Delaware County, bypasses the city to the west, serving the city's western suburbs, as well as providing a link to Allentown and points north. Similarly, Interstate 276, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Delaware River Extension, acts as a bypass and commuter route to the north of the city as well as a link to the New Jersey Turnpike to New York.

However, other planned freeways have been canceled, such as an Interstate 695 running southwest from downtown, two freeways connecting Interstate 95 to Interstate 76 that would have replaced Girard Avenue and South Street and a freeway upgrade of Roosevelt Boulevard.

The Delaware River Port Authority operates four bridges in the Philadelphia area across the Delaware River to New Jersey: the Walt Whitman Bridge (I-76), the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (I-676 and US 30), the Betsy Ross Bridge (Route 90), and the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322). The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge connects PA Route 73 in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia with New Jersey's Route 73 in Palmyra, Camden County, and is maintained by the Burlington County Bridge Commission.

Philadelphia is also a major hub for Greyhound Lines, which operates 24-hour service to points east of the Mississippi River. Most of Greyhound's services in Philadelphia operate to/from the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal, located at 1001 Filbert Street in Center City Philadelphia. In 2006, the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal was the second busiest Greyhound terminal in the United States, after the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. Besides Greyhound, six other bus operators provide service to the Center City Greyhound terminal. These are Bieber Tourways, Capitol Trailways, Martz Trailways, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Susquehanna Trailways, and the bus division for New Jersey Transit.

Suburban Station

Market-Frankford Line entrance in Old City

[edit] Rail Main article: History of rail transport in Philadelphia

Since the early days of rail transport in the United States, Philadelphia has served as hub for several major rail companies, especially the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad first operated Broad Street Station, then 30th Street Station and Suburban Station, and the Reading Railroad operated out of Reading Terminal, now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The two companies also operated competing commuter rail systems in the area, known collectively as the Regional Rail system. The two systems today, for the most part still intact but now connected, operate as a single system under the control of the SEPTA, the regional transit authority. Additionally, Philadelphia is linked to Southern New Jersey via the Port Authority Transit Company subway system.

Philadelphia is one of the few North American cities to maintain streetcar lines. In addition to "subway-surface" trolleys - which are so called because during the years when the city was served by over 2000 trolleys and more than 65 lines, these "surface" cars also ran in the streetcar subway - the city recently reintroduced trolley service to the Girard Avenue Line, Route 15, considered by some a "heritage" line. Though the use of rebuilt 1947 PCC streetcars was primarily for budgetary reasons, rather than as a historic tribute.

Today Philadelphia is a hub of the semi-nationalized Amtrak system, with 30th Street Station being a primary stop on the Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Corridor to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 30th Street also serves as a major station for services via the Pennsylvania Railroad's former Pennsylvania Main Line to Chicago. 30th Street is Amtrak's third-busiest station in numbers of passengers as of fiscal year 2003. It is also a terminus of New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line.[64]

[edit] Telecommunications

Southeastern Pennsylvania was once served only by the 215 area code, beginning in 1947 when the North American Numbering Plan of the "Bell System" went into effect. The area covered by the code was severely truncated when area code 610 was split from 215. Today only the city and its northern suburbs are covered by 215. An overlay area code, 267, was added to the 215 service area in 1997. A plan to introduce area code 445 as an additional overlay in 2001 was delayed and later rescinded.[65]

Philadelphia is now also served by Wireless Philadelphia, a citywide initiative to provide Wi-Fi service. The Proof of Concept area was approved on May 23, 2007, and service is now available in many areas of the city.

[edit] Sister cities

Philadelphia skyline as seen from the South Street Bridge in November 2007

Philadelphia has ten sister cities, as designated by the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia (IVC): Florence, Italy (1964) Tel Aviv, Israel (1966) Toruń, Poland (1976) Tianjin, China (1980) Incheon, South Korea (1984) Douala, Cameroon (1986) Kobe, Japan (1986) Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (1992) Abruzzo, Italy (1997) Aix-en-Provence, France (1999)

Philadelphia has dedicated landmarks to its sister cities. Dedicated in June 1976, the Sister Cities Plaza, a one-half-acre site located at 18th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, honors Philadelphia's relationships with Tel Aviv and Florence which were its first Sister Cities. Another landmark, the Torun Triangle, honoring the Sister City relationship with Toruń, Poland, was constructed in 1976, west of the United Way building at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Triangle contains the Copernicus monument. The Chinatown Gate, erected in 1984 and crafted by artisans of Tianjin, China, stands astride the intersection of 10th and Arch Streets as an elaborate and colorful symbol of the Sister City relationship. Philadelphia is at coordinates 39.953333, -75.17

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