Minneapolis Neighborhoods

Minneapolis

Minneapolis (/ˌmɪniˈæpəlɪs/ ( listen)) is the county seat of Hennepin County,[5] and the larger of the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.[2] As of 2016, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota and 46th-largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 413,651.[3] The Twin Cities metropolitan area consists of Minneapolis, its neighbor Saint Paul, and suburbs which altogether contain about 3.6 million people, and is the second-largest economic center in the Midwest.[6]

Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. The city is abundantly rich in water, with 13 lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls; many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. It was once the world's flour milling capital and a hub for timber. The city and surrounding region is the primary business center between Chicago and Seattle, with Minneapolis proper containing America's tenth-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies.[7][8] As an integral link to the global economy, Minneapolis is categorized as a global city, with strengths in business, medicine, sports, manufacturing, culture, education, and research.[9]

Minneapolis has one of the largest LGBT populations in the U.S. in terms of its number of openly gay politicians, gay wedding ceremonies, pride events and gay-inclusive religious organizations, relative to the size of the total population of the city.[10] Noted for its strong music and performing arts scenes, Minneapolis is home to both the award-winning Guthrie Theater and the historic First Avenue nightclub. Reflecting the region's status as an epicenter of folk, funk, and alternative rock music, the city served as the launching pad for several of the 20th century's most influential musicians, including Bob Dylan and Prince.[11]

Native American Dakota Sioux were the region's sole residents when French explorers arrived around 1680. For a time, amicable relations were based on fur trading. Gradually more European-American settlers arrived, competing for game and other resources with the Dakota.

Minneapolis–Saint Paul

Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a major metropolitan area built around the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in east central Minnesota. [12] The area is commonly known as the Twin Cities after its two largest cities, Minneapolis, the most populous city in the state, and Saint Paul, the state capital. It is an example of twin cities in the sense of geographical proximity. Minnesotans living outside of Minneapolis and Saint Paul often refer to the two together (or the seven-county metro area collectively) as The Cities.

There are several different definitions of the region. Many refer to the Twin Cities as the seven-county region which is governed under the Metropolitan Council regional governmental agency and planning organization. The Office of Management and Budget officially designates 16 counties as the Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, the 16th largest in the United States. The entire region known as the Minneapolis–St. Paul MN-WI Combined Statistical Area, has a population of 3,946,533, the 14th largest, according to 2017 Census estimates.

Despite the Twin moniker, both cities are independent municipalities with defined borders. Minneapolis is somewhat younger with more modern skyscrapers downtown, while Saint Paul has been likened to an East Coast city, with quaint neighborhoods and a vast collection of well-preserved late-Victorian architecture.[13]

Note: Counties that are bolded are under jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Council. Numbers in parentheses are 2013 census estimates. Counties that are italicized were added to the metropolitan area when the Office of Management and Budget revised its delineations of metropolitan statistical areas in 2013.[14][15]