Hi everyone. I'm Bryan, and today we're going to look at New England, New York, and the rest of the
northeast region of the U.S.A. Of the four regions used by the U.S. Census Bureau to organize data,
the smallest in area by far is the northeast. But don't let that fool you into thinking that the
northeast doesn't have a lot to offer. Quite the opposite is true. The northeast is as diverse as
any other region, and though lacking in size, it has more than its share of unique cultural
identities and traits. Meaning there's a lot going on here. Boy is there ever! Let's turn to
literature and music to get a better idea of the region. Nine states comprise the northeast region,
with six of those states making up New England, which author Ogden Tanner described as follows.
"I think if I had to show someone New England only at one instant, it would
have to be this. From a canoe, suspended on a silver river, surrounded by the great, silent,
autumnal explosion of the trees. On the hills, the evergreens stand unchanging. Scattered in abstract
patterns through their ranks, the deciduous trees produce the glorious golds, oranges, reds,
and purples." But the northeast region also has unquestionably the most important and famous U.S.
city, New York. In his famous song, Frank Sinatra described New York as the city that doesn't sleep.
With more than 8 million people in New York City alone as of 2020, that song has it right. So let's
take a trip to the diverse, always moving and perennially surprising northeast United States.
Part one, the region. As I said earlier, New England makes up a large portion of the northeast
region and can be seen here colored in red. New England includes the states of Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
and Vermont. Located in the continental climate region with warm summers and cold winters,
the northeast region includes three other states as well. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,
all of which are unique in their own right. The region is bordered by Canada to the north,
the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Maryland to the south, and lakes Erie and Ontario to the west.
Major cities include, of course, New York, but also Boston and Philadelphia. Then you
have the state of New Jersey, which in 2020 had the highest population density of all 50 states,
with 1,218 people per square mile. To put that into perspective, compare New Jersey to the state
of Maine, with about 43 people per square mile. So yeah, a lot of people live in the northeast
region. In fact, so many people live in and around New York City that the surrounding area is called
a megalopolis, which is a large continuous urban mass. Remember it was said earlier that
more than 8 million people live in New York City? Well that's not half of it. As of 2020,
more than 20 million people lived in the New York metropolitan area. 20 million. This area includes
New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley in New York state, the five largest cities
of New Jersey, and six of the seven largest cities of Connecticut. Brooklyn, a borough of New York,
has almost three million residents by itself, and get this. As of 2020, six percent of the entire
U.S. population lives in the New York metropolitan area. The megalopolis continues to grow too,
as cities along the northeast coast merge into one another to create a giant urban area that
gets bigger every year. The area stretching from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through the New York
metro area, up towards Boston, Massachusetts, is almost one continuous overlapping urban mass.
In fact, this area stretches into the south to Washington DC, creating an even bigger
megalopolis called Boswash. Unsurprisingly as of 2020, about 85 percent of the northeast's
58 million residents live in urban areas, and as mentioned before, more than a third of those are
in the New York metro area. As a center of many industries including finance, international trade,
media, real estate, fashion, entertainment, tourism, biotechnology, law, and manufacturing,
the New York metropolitan region is one of the most important economic landscapes in the world.
It's also one of the most visited tourist destinations in the U.S. So now let's talk a
little bit more about the different cities of the northeast. Now we can't leave New York quite yet,
because annually millions flock to the city to see stunning human-created landscapes.
Skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the One World Trade Center,
the structure built to memorialize the lives lost in the terrorist attack of September the 11th,
2001, and now the tallest building in the western hemisphere. Many others are awed by the Statue
of Liberty, take a selfie in Times Square, stroll through Central Park, enjoy a play on Broadway or
revel at the formidable edifices of Wall Street. Of course, New York isn't the only northeastern
city on a must-see list for any tourist. Boston is a great city for history lovers,
as visitors can follow the Freedom Trail to see Bunker Hill, the Boston commons, and the site of
the Boston massacre. A visit here reminds folks that the entire northeast region is included in
America's original 13 colonies. Across the Charles River is Harvard, or as the locals might call it
Hah-vahd. The oldest and probably most prominent university in the Americas. Down the coast a bit,
visitors to Philadelphia will want to plan a trip to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall,
where our founding fathers approved the Declaration of Independence.
And what movie buff wouldn't want to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and run up the steps,
just like Rocky? On the other side of Pennsylvania lies another city well known to industrialists
and sports fans, Pittsburgh. A certain industry there has been so prevalent in the city's history,
that the pro football team named Steelers is synonymous with that city. While the steel
industry has receded in recent decades, and the city is widely considered part of the Midwest
region's rust belt, it is still a large part of the city's economic and cultural identity.
And speaking of steel, let's shift over and talk about the economics of the northeast region.
Not just in Pittsburgh, but throughout western Pennsylvania, both coal and steel
have represented in the past the financial core of this region's economy. But iron, coal, and really
all northeastern industry have benefited greatly from the waterways in the region.
In particular, the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean has always proven crucial to trade with Europe
and other nations. While physical features such as the Hudson River and lakes Erie and Ontario
were essential in moving goods, early factories were built on rivers, especially at waterfalls,
using the moving water as an energy source to harness hydroelectric power to turn machinery.
With much of America's population living in the northeast region, in the first half of the
19th century, textile mills and other factories thrived throughout New England and the northeast,
creating jobs in both industry and transportation. The creation of goods in the northeast led to
innovative interaction with the environment. In addition to using rivers to power the factories,
people figured out ways to modify the land to move those products. Specifically the Erie Canal, which
connected the Great Lakes to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. The shifting of the economic base
to industry was welcomed as the pilgrims, puritans, and other early settlers in the
northeast region had initially tried their hands at agriculture. With its rocky soil, many steep
hills, and continental climate though, many crops didn't do so well in the region. The shift from
the primary economic activity of farming to the secondary activity of manufacturing meant a more
consistent paycheck, and thousands left fields in the countryside for factories in the cities.
New Jersey, nicknamed the garden state, carries a moniker that doesn't really seem to apply today,
as industry and trade continue to dominate the northeast. It almost goes without saying,
but another staple of the region is tourism. As mentioned before, thousands travel to the major
cities each year for various reasons, including professional sports, where
venues such as baseball's Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium host baseball's fiercest rivalry between
the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. The Yankees are the longtime standard for the sport,
and the Boston Celtics are perhaps the NBA's most historic franchise. And hockey and football
remain popular for many fans as well. Many people travel to this region for the famous fall foliage.
States such as New Hampshire and Vermont are legendary for the diverse colors described
so well by Ogden Tanner at the beginning of today's lesson. Other tourist destinations in
the northeast include the lighthouses along the Atlantic coast of Maine, and perhaps the most
famous waterfall in the world, Niagara Falls, located in western New York near Lake Ontario.
And lest we forget the Appalachian Trail. The longest hiking-only trail in the world is a must
for outdoor enthusiasts. The 2,200 mile route runs the length of the Appalachian Mountains,
beginning in Maine and stretching throughout the northeast region, before entering the south and
ending in Georgia. Like Niagara, the Appalachian Trail and the surrounding mountain chain is one of
the most prominent physical characteristics of the northeast. So what the northeast region may lack
in a unified cultural identity, it's not lacking in character, history, economic diversity, or
interesting places to visit. Perhaps you'll want to put some sites in the northeast on your own
bucket list. At the very least, it's a region of great interest. Until next time, keep exploring.