Commitment to the Future
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Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
18 • Coastal Virginia 2021-22
counties. Of the locales to the north of the James River, the cities of Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson and Williamsburg and the counties of York and James City are referred to as the “Peninsula,” while Gloucester is known as the “Middle Peninsula.” The communities on the other side of the river—the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and
Virginia Beach, the town of Smithfield, and the counties of Isle of Wight, Southampton and Surry—comprise an area called the “Southside.”
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Hampton Roads takes its name from the area’s first royal governor, the Earl of Southhampton, and the nautical term “road” which means safe harbor. For over 400 years, Hampton Roads has referred to the place where the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth Rivers pour into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay forming the world’s largest natural harbor. Today, it is a name that also depicts a close-knit group of Virginia communities that share a rich heritage going back to Colonial times and an equally rich vision for the 21st century. Since 1983, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget has considered Hampton Roads as one Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Today, it has grown to become the country’s 37th largest metro area just ahead of Nashville with 1.7 million people and the 9th largest in the Southeastern United States. Unlike many metropolitan areas, Hampton Roads’ population nucleus is not confined to one central city, but is spread among several growing cities and counties of significant size. Therefore, Hampton Roads has come to refer not only to the harbor but the entire surrounding area. The greater Hampton Roads of today is comprised of seventeen communities—ten cities, one town and six
COURTESY OF city of Newport
CommunityProfiles: Profiles:Gloucester Quality ofCounty Life Community
Communities Sharing a Rich Past and
Aircraft-Carrier John F. Kenned
y CVN 79 christened at Newpor
t News Shipbuilding
