Hype for the Future 69J: New York and Philadelphia Compared

Introduction

New York and Philadelphia are two of the most substantially populated cities in the Northeast Megalopolis and specifically within the Mid-Atlantic portion of the region. While New York is further north and largely associated with the old New Amsterdam and significant Dutch settlement, Philadelphia is located somewhat further south, along the Delaware River, and traditionally identified as New Sweden prior to Dutch control of the former region as part of the Mid-Atlantic region prior to the Quaker settlement that defines the modern Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Geographies

The City of Philadelphia, nicknamed “Philly” and often abbreviated “PHL,” is identified as approximately the location where the Delaware River flows into the beginning of the Delaware Bay, with the inner city on the west (Pennsylvania) side, the later construct of the Twelve Mile Circle separating the core urbanized area from the modern State of Delaware. The more modern constructs of suburban Philadelphia also extend east across the Delaware into New Jersey, as well as into light sprawl associated with similar Quaker heritage in modern-day Cecil County, Maryland.

While the City of Philadelphia is along the Delaware River and near the mouth of such river, the City of New York is officially located first along the East and Hudson Rivers, then nearby to the New York Harbor, then more to the tune of the particular islands in question. Manhattan remains the primary island, with Staten Island representing a separate borough and Long Island representing Brooklyn and Queens. The Bronx, the northernmost of the Five Boroughs of New York City, is actually located not just further inland, but also within the region largely associated with the mainland and derived from the southern portion of old Westchester County.

Celebrating the State of New York

novaTopFlex pledges to celebrate the State of New York through extensive research of various locations, not just within the City of New York or even Long Island, but across the entire State of New York, including Western New York, the Finger Lakes, the Catskills, the Burned-over District, the Adirondacks, the Capital District, and the Taconics. Apart from the City of New York, numerous smaller cities within the “Upstate” region of the State, which is actually more of an oversimplification of the main body of the State, exist, in particular including Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Schenectady, Poughkeepsie, Elmira, Binghamton, Watertown, and Plattsburgh.