1.
U.S. state
–
A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
2.
Connecticut
–
Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront
3.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
–
Bridgeport is a seaport city in the U. S. state of Connecticut. It is the largest city in the state and is located in Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Island Sound, Bridgeport had a population of 144,229 during the 2010 Census, making it also the 5th-most populous in New England. It is bordered by the towns of Trumbull to the north, Fairfield to the west, the Greater Bridgeport area is the 48th-largest urban area in the United States and forms part of the Greater New York City Area. Bridgeport was inhabited by the Paugussett Indian tribe at the time of its English colonization, the English farming community became a center of trade, shipbuilding, and whaling. The town incorporated itself to subsidize the Housatonic Railroad and rapidly industrialized following its connection to the New York, manufacturing was the mainstay of the local economy until the 1970s. Industrial restructuring and suburbanization caused the loss of jobs and affluent residents, leaving Bridgeport struggling with problems of poverty. In the 21st century, conversion of office and factory buildings to residential use, the showman P. T. Barnum was a resident of the city and served as the towns mayor in the late 19th century. Barnum built four houses in Bridgeport, and housed his circus in town during winter, the first Subway restaurant opened in the North End section of the city in 1965. The Frisbie Pie Company was located here, and Bridgeport is credited as the birthplace of the Frisbee, the first documented English settlement within the present city limits of Bridgeport took place in 1644, centered at Black Rock Harbor along North Avenue and between Park and Briarwood Avenues. The place was called Pequonnock, after a band of the Paugussett, one of their sacred sites was Golden Hill, which overlooked the harbor and was the location of natural springs and their planting fields. The Golden Hill Indians were granted a reservation here by the Colony of Connecticut in 1639 that survived until 1802, a village called Newfield began to coalesce around the corner of State and Water Streets in the 1760s. The area officially known as Stratfield in 1695 or 1701 due to its location between the already existing towns of Stratford and Fairfield. During the American Revolution, Newfield Harbor was a center of privateering, Newfield initially expanded around the coasting trade with Boston, New York, and Baltimore and the international trade with the West Indies. The commercial activity of the village was clustered around the wharves on the west bank of the Pequonnock, in 1800, the village became the Borough of Bridgeport, the first so incorporated in the state. It was named for the Newfield or Lottery Bridge across the Pequonnock, Bridgeport Bank was established in 1806. In 1821, the township of Bridgeport became independent of Stratford, the West India trade died down around 1840, but by that time the Bridgeport Steamship Company and Bridgeport Whaling Company had been incorporated and the Housatonic Railroad chartered. The HRRC ran upstate along the Housatonic Valley, connecting with Massachusettss Berkshire Railroad at the state line, Bridgeport was chartered as Connecticuts fifth city in 1836 in order to enable the town council to secure funding to provide to the HRRC and ensure that it would terminate in Bridgeport. The Naugatuck Railroad—connecting Bridgeport to Waterbury and Winsted along the Naugatuck—was chartered in 1845, the same year, the New York and New Haven Railroad began operation, connecting Bridgeport to New York and the other towns along the north shore of the Long Island Sound
4.
Stamford, Connecticut
–
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643. As of July 1,2014, according to the Census Bureau, the population of Stamford had risen to 128,278, making it the third-largest city in the state and the seventh-largest city in New England. Approximately 30 miles from Manhattan, Stamford is in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Metro area which is a part of the Greater New York metropolitan area. Stamford is home to four Fortune 500 Companies, nine Fortune 1000 Companies and this gives Stamford the largest financial district in New York Metro outside New York City itself and one of the largest concentrations of corporations in the nation. Stamford is also home to the Stamford Waterside Design District - a creative neighborhood and shopping destination dedicated to Interior Design, Stamford was known as Rippowam by the Native American inhabitants to the region, and the very first European settlers to the area also referred to it as such. The name was changed to Stamford after the town Stamford, Lincolnshire. The deed to Stamford was signed on July 1,1640 between Captain Turner of the New Haven Colony and Chief Ponus, by the 18th century, one of the primary industries of the town was merchandising by water, which was possible due to Stamfords proximity to New York. In 1692, Stamford was home to a famous witch trial than the well-known Salem witch trials. The accusations were less fanatical and smaller-scale but also grew to prominence through gossip, Stamford incorporated as a city in 1893. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported the population as 94. 6% white and 5. 2% black. In the 1960s and 1970s, Stamfords commercial real estate boomed as corporations relocated from New York City to peripheral areas, a massive urban redevelopment campaign during that time resulted in a downtown with many tall office buildings. Rich Co. was the urban renewal developer of the downtown in an ongoing redevelopment project that was contentious, beginning in the 1960s. Over the years, other developers have joined in building up the downtown, since 2008, an 80-acre mixed-use redevelopment project for the Stamfords Harbor Point neighborhood has added additional growth south of the citys Downtown area. Once complete, the redevelopment will include 6,000,000 square feet of new residential, retail, office and hotel space, as of July 2012, roughly 900 of the projected 4,000 Harbor Point residential units had been constructed. Stamford is situated near the point of Connecticut. There are still a number of references to North Stamford as a separate town, surrounding towns include Pound Ridge, New York to the north, Greenwich to the west, and both Darien and New Canaan to the east. The city has an area of 52.09 square miles, Stamford, like the rest of coastal Connecticut, lies in the broad transition zone between the cold continental climate to the north and the more mild temperate/subtropical climate, to the south
5.
Norwalk, Connecticut
–
Norwalk, is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located in the New York metropolitan area. As of 2015, the population for Norwalk was 88,485. Norwalk, settled 1649, incorporated Sept.1651, Norwaukee shall bee a townee Algonkin noyank, point of land, or more probably from the Indian name, the city boundaries originally included parts of the current municipalities of New Canaan, Wilton, and Westport. Ancient records describe the boundaries as from Norwalk river to Sauhatuck river, from sea, thus a disputing source, and common tradition, describes Norwalks name deriving from the northern boundary extending from the sea covering one days north walk into the countryside. An additional source found this analysis to be improbable, given that the name Norwalk was used by natives, additionally a nearby river was known as the Norwake River when the area was first colonized. Roger Ludlows 1640 land purchase was from the Indians of Norwalke, the earliest town records list the city name as Norwalke The Connecticut Register, published in 1847, describes that the early Colony Records spelled it Norrwake. Around the same time, the elderly used the ancient pronunciation Norruck, Norwalk has a nickname, Oyster Town, due to its prominent oyster fisheries providing a large source of income to the city since the early 19th century. Norwalk Harbors islands and proximity to New York City make it profitable for oyster harvesting, discarded oyster shells along the Connecticut coast help prove the importance oysters had to pre-Columbian inhabitants of the area as well. In 2002 Norwalk was the location of the murder trial of Michael Skakel. After a four-week trial, Skakel was convicted on June 7 for the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, the Methodist congregation had been formed in 1789 during the visit by Jesse Lee, but is survived by three other Methodist churches in the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 36.3 square miles. Norwalk, Connecticut, gets 45 inches of rain per year, the average US city gets 25 inches of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 100, on average, there are 179 sunny days per year in Norwalk, Connecticut. The July high is around 83 degrees, Norwalks topography is dominated by its coastline along Long Island Sound, the Norwalk River and its eastern and western banks, and the Norwalk Islands. The highest elevation is 282 feet above sea level, at the summit of Middle Clapboard Hill in West Norwalk, as of the census of 2010, there were 85,603 people,35,415 households, and 21,630 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,358.2 inhabitants per square mile, there were 35,415 housing units at an average density of 975.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 68. 7% White,14. 2% African American,0. 4% Native American,4. 8% Asian,0. 1% Pacific Islander,9. 0% from other races, and 2. 8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24. 3% of the population,33. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
6.
Danbury, Connecticut
–
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 70 miles from New York City. Danburys population at the 2010 census was 80,893, Danbury is the fourth most populous city in Fairfield County, and seventh among Connecticut cities. The city is within the New York metropolitan area, the city is named for Danbury, England, the place of origin of many of its early settlers. It is nicknamed the Hat City because of its prominent history in the hat industry, the mineral danburite is named for Danbury. Danbury is home to Danbury Hospital, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury Fair Mall, Danbury was settled by colonists in 1685, when eight families moved from what are now Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. The Danbury area was then called Pahquioque by its namesake, the Pahquioque Native Americans, one of the original settlers was Samuel Benedict, who bought land from the Paquioques in 1685, along with his brother James Benedict, James Beebe, and Judah Gregory. Also called Paquiack by local Native Americans, the settlers chose the name Swampfield for their town, but in October 1687, the general court appointed a committee to lay out the new towns boundaries. A survey was made in 1693, and a formal patent was granted in 1702. During the American Revolution, Danbury was an important military depot for the Continental Army. On April 26,1777, the British, under Major General William Tryon, the central motto on the seal of the City of Danbury is Restituimus, a reference to the destruction caused by the Loyalist army troops. The American General David Wooster was mortally wounded at the Battle of Ridgefield by the same British forces which had attacked Danbury and he is buried in Danburys Wooster Cemetery, the private Wooster School in Danbury also was named in his honor. It is the first known instance of the expression in American legal or political writing, the letter is on display at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Danbury. The first Danbury Fair was held in 1821, in 1869, it became a yearly event, the last edition was in 1981. The fairgrounds were cleared to make room for the Danbury Fair Mall, in 1835, the Connecticut Legislature granted a rail charter to the Fairfield County Railroad, which saw no construction as investment was slow. In 1850, the plans were scaled back, and renamed the Danbury. Work moved quickly on the 23 mi railroad line, in 1852, it, the first railroad line in Danbury, opened, with two trains making the 75-minute trip to Norwalk. The central part of Danbury was incorporated as a borough in 1822, the borough was reincorporated as the city of Danbury on April 19,1889. The city and town were consolidated on January 1,1965, the dam impounding the Kohanza Reservoir, one of many reservoirs built to provide water to the hat factories, broke on January 31,1869
7.
Metropolitan area
–
As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
8.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
Gold Coast (Connecticut)
–
The area is about 50 miles northeast of New York City, and is home to many wealthy NYC based business people. This area is often portrayed in culture as a bastion of wealth, despite not being on the coast, New Canaan and other landlocked towns are still generally included, with the Gold Coast boasting the historic and scenic Merritt Parkway as its centerpiece. With more land area, average values in New Canaan may be higher than Darien. With a higher population, a larger demographic weighs greater on the income in a town like Greenwich. This plus the 47 square miles in land area makes Greenwich essentially incomparable, New Canaan is also given an advantage, being well over 50% larger than Darien but still having a similar population. According to the 2000 US Census, New Canaan was first in per capita income, Darien second, however, per capita income does not take into account personal assets, homes, jewelry, art, boats or automobiles. Greenwich has the lowest mill rate, which may indicate higher property value, in 2000, New Canaan had a higher percentage of resident homeowners than Greenwich, which may indicate more wealth. According to some sources, the wealthiest town along the Gold Coast should be New Canaan because of their rate of home ownership suggesting a higher level of personal assets. More recently, another source named Darien the states richest town in 2011, an additional consideration is to measure wealth per person - not aggregate town wealth. Both the Adjusted Equalized Net Grand List per Capita Wealth Value, the AENGLC is based on the value of residential and commercial real estate, and measures the towns tax base available to pay for public education. It is not a measure of the wealth of individual residents. Yet another definition for the Gold coast is the one provided by the University of Connecticuts Five Connecticuts study and these are Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Weston, Wilton, Ridgefield, and Easton. A last method is to check the planning regions and this yields very similar results to the above method but adds Stamford and Norwalk while subtracting Ridgefield. A2015 Connecticut Post article named Darien the snobbiest town in Connecticut
