Minneapolis
Hennepin County
27-43000
Minneapolis [ ˌ mɪnɪæpəlɪs ] with around 382,500 inhabitants, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Together with St. Paul it forms the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities.
The city's name comes from a word combination of two languages , the word of the Dakota Indians for water ( " minne " ) and the word of the Greeks for the city ( " polis ").
- 6.1 Air Traffic
- 6.2 Rail transport
- 6.3 Road traffic
- 6.4 Public transport 6.4.1 buses
- 6.4.2 Light Rail and Trams
- 8.1 Town twinning
History
The regions around present-day Minneapolis was one of the settlement areas of the Dakota. Against 1680 French fur traders reached the area. From then on increasingly stressed European settlers, the region along the Mississippi River itself. In various contracts with the Mdewakanton these were displaced by the Europeans and on. The construction of Fort Snelling at the point of confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers in 1819, several European settlements were established. 1867 the north Situated on the Saint Anthony Falls Minneapolis became a town, the same year the railway was taken to Chicago in operation. 1872 Minneapolis merged with the east of the Mississippi town of St. Anthony.
With the construction of flour mills at the Saint Anthony Falls very fine flour could be produced. Between 1880 and 1930 the city was one of the major flour producers in the United States. The high efficiency of water-powered mills was considered innovative and Minneapolis made known worldwide. Many settlers from the eastern United States came to the city and let them grow rapidly. Between 1880 and 1930, the population increased tenfold to more than 460,000. In addition to many mills originated at the waterfalls, numerous sawmills that processed the product derived from northern Minnesota timber. 1905 just under ten percent of the electricity consumed in the United States flour and grist in Minneapolis were produced.
In the 1950s the town center was started with the renovation. Over 200 new buildings were built, numerous old - partly historical buildings - demolished. So also the Metropolitan Building Built in 1890 was demolished, one of the first and most important skyscrapers of the city.
Geography
Minneapolis is located in the Midwestern United States on the Mississippi River. It has an area of approximately 151 square kilometers. Of these, six per cent of water and 15 percent parks. To the south of the city center runs the 45th parallel. The minimum height above sea level at the confluence of Minnehaha Creek and the Mississippi River with an altitude of 209 meters. The highest point is located in Prospect Park area with 282 meters.
In Minneapolis, there is the typical for the Midwest climate. The winters are very cold and dry, summers are warm and sometimes humid. In the Köppen climate classification / Geiger, the city falls into the humid continental climate ( Dfa ).
The highest ever recorded temperature is 42.2 degrees Celsius in July 1936, the lowest was -40.6 degrees Celsius in January, 1888. Winter 1983/84 was the snowiest than 2.5 meters of snow fell. Due to the unprotected from the weather situation in the northern United States Minneapolis arrives in winter often under the influence of cold polar air masses. The average annual temperature of the Minneapolis-St region. Paul of 7 degrees Celsius is also the lowest of all metropolitan areas within the United States.
Population
In the 1850s and 1860s businessmen, speculators, clergy and city planners moved from New England and New York in the area of present-day Minneapolis on the Mississippi River. From the mid- 1860s, followed by immigrants from the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Later, immigrants came from Germany, Italy, Greece, Poland and the southeastern Europe in the city. Also, Jews, Russians and East Europeans settled there. Asian immigrants settled in increasingly since the early 20th century in Minneapolis down. These included mainly Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans and Japanese. After starting from the 1970s, the immigration of Asians reinforcing, sat at the beginning of the 1990s, a strong increase in population of Hispanics and African-American population, so live in the metropolitan area of about 100,000 people of Somali origin.
The highest population was reached at the 1950 census, with 521 718 inhabitants, since it took until 1990, steadily declining. This is due to a strong suburbanisation. Since 2000, the population is constant at around 382,500 inhabitants. For 2010, a population of 382 578 was determined during the census, which is a decrease compared to 2000 of only 40 inhabitants. The proportions of African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics in the total population steadily increasing. However, the ethnic minorities have, in comparison to the white population to a residue formation. While 42 percent of the white population have a bachelor's degree, this value is the African-American population at 15 percent, and the Latin- American at 13 percent. The standard of living increased significantly compared to 2000 continues to increase, the per capita income is among the highest in the Midwest, here too there is a wide gap between different ethnic groups. To live almost a third of Asian Americans below the poverty line, while this value is within the white population at nine percent.
Culture and sights
Culture
Minneapolis, together with its twin city St. Paul a cultural focus in the Midwest of the United States. Both cities have to New York City to the highest per capita density of theaters in the United States. For the traditional architect Jean Nouvel, the Guthrie Theater in 2006 designed a new theater building. Besides the well known theaters, such as the restored State Theater, the Orpheum Theatre and the Pantages Theatre also numerous smaller theaters and stages where shows, ballets and concerts are held there.
The Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of the main conductor Osmo Vänskä is considered one of the best symphony orchestra in the country and appears regularly in the Orchestra Hall.
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a 1915 built in the south of the city art museum with 80,000 exhibits. The Walker Art Center has been described by Newsweek as one of the best contemporary art museums in the country. It was the first public art museum in the upper Mittlerern west and was renovated from 1999 to 2005 and extended.
Architecture and unusual buildings
In Minneapolis there is next to a number of architecturally sophisticated designed buildings, such as:
- Chambers Hotel, sister company of the famous New York hotels
- Central Library
- W Foshay, originally an Art Deco tower
- Graves 601 Hotel
- The Depot, a former railway station in the city center
- The Lakewood opened in 1872 and about 100 hectares Cemetery is regarded as scenic and architecturally worth seeing.
- Built in 1967, The I-35W Mississippi River bridge; a current- pillarless bridge over the Mississippi River with a maximum span of 150 m, which collapsed on August 1, 2007 at the rush hour.
- Bardwell - Ferrant House
Economy
The city forms with the surrounding metropolitan area, a major business center in the midwestern United States. In Minneapolis, among others, the food and processing industry, the banking and financial sector, companies in the health care and freight forwarding and railway companies are located.
Five listed in the Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters in Minneapolis: the retail chain Target Corporation, U.S. Bancorp, the bank, the energy company Xcel Energy, the Financial Services Ameriprise Financial and Thrivent Financial Lutheran insurance company for Lutherans. Other companies in the Fortune 1000 are PepsiAmericas, Valspar and Donaldson Company.
The Mall of America ( MoA ) just south of Minneapolis and, with its 42 million annual visitors as the most visited shopping mall in the world.
The metropolitan area of the Twin Cities generates about 63.8 percent of the gross domestic product of Minnesota. This corresponds to around $ 145.8 billion. The per capita income is the fourteenth highest in the metropolitan regions in the United States. The unemployment rate is 4.3 percent (January to September 2007).
Traffic
Traffic
The Minneapolis -Saint Paul International Airport ( MSP) is an international airport, which extends across the Southeast beyond. In the past he has been continuously expanded and developed and is equipped with 35.6 million passengers ( 2007), an internationally significant airport. It is served by three international, twelve domestic, seven charter and four regional carriers.
Rail transport
The railroad played in the early development of Minneapolis ' a significant role. Large railroad companies are or were the BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, Canadian Pacific Railway and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. Although the advent of the Second World War, fell and some stations and lines were shut down, the railroad is an important transportation just for freight until today.
Once a day keeps the operated by Amtrak Empire Builder a trans-regional passenger train on its way from Seattle to Chicago at Midway Station in St. Paul. On November 16, 2009, the so-called Northstar commuter line was opened, a transport connection between Minneapolis and Big Lake about 65 km in length. An extension to the north is planned but currently stopped due to poor ridership development.
Road
As a result of the growth of the metropolitan region and the emergence of the automobile transport in the 20th century a dense and well-developed road network was in and around Minneapolis, which especially at rush hour, however, pushes limits of its capacity. Among the major highways in Minneapolis include Interstate 94 and Interstate 35 W.
Public transport
Buses
The most important means of public transport, despite the increasing popularity of high-speed railway is still the bus. There are about 130 bus routes in Greater Minneapolis -Saint Paul, which often have their own bus lanes on wide streets. Especially popular is the Hi- Frequency Network, which are parts of twelve bus routes that operate in heavily trafficked areas during the day from Monday to Saturday at intervals of less than 15 minutes.
Light Rail and Trams
Since 1953, the driving operation of streetcars in Minneapolis has been set, the inhabitants of the city had to rely on a deteriorating network of buses. However, it has been around since the 1970s, demands for high-speed rail ( light rail ) or the reintroduction of trams.
In January 2001, we began construction of the first high-speed railway line ( Light Rail ) from Minneapolis, the Hiawatha Line. It was opened in part on 26 June 2004, and since December 4, 2004 in its present size available. The line begins north of downtown at the intersection of 5th Street North and Hennepin Avenue in the historic Warehouse District, followed by the 5th Street through downtown to the Metrodome, a large football stadium in the Southeast of downtown, and then runs southeast along the Hiawatha Avenue through residential area of Minneapolis, to the airport, where she runs underground and two terminals together. After that, the route passes through the suburb of Bloomington to the Mall of America. For 2009, is an extension of a station to the northwest, the new stadium of the Minnesota Twins, planned in the Warehouse District.
The next scheduled line is the Central Corridor, which will connect the inner cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The construction work for this line end of 2010 began, the regular operation to be launched in 2014. The route is up to the Metrodome be equal to the Hiawatha Line, but then go through the campus of the University of Minnesota, cross the Mississippi, and then at the University Avenue by Saint Paul, past the State Capitol of Minnesota, to Downtown Saint Paul. go
Also in planning is the Southwest Corridor, which is now being tested on its environmental impact. He should lead by Downtown from Uptown and south-west by the suburbs of St. Louis Park and Hopkins up to Edina. The driving could be taken around 2015.
2007, a study on the reintroduction of trams was completed. In the next few years could lead to the centrally located along roads up to eight tram lines.
Skyways
A city planning feature in Minneapolis represent the so-called Skyways, miles of footpaths closed in the road-side upper floors of houses with pedestrian bridges over the roads that allow in downtown urban errands without ever having to go outside. Connect all urban targets, such as parking garages, shops, banks, offices, restaurants, hotels, etc. with each other and provide protection against the extreme cold in the winter as well as of the possible heat in summer.
Sports
Among the most famous sports teams in the city include the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football League, the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association and the Minnesota Twins in the American League of MLB. The ice hockey team, the Minnesota Wild and the football team Minnesota Thunder are located in St. Paul.
The first professional sports team was the Minneapolis Millers in the Minor League Baseball. They were 1884-1960 based in Minneapolis. In the 1940s to 1950s the Minneapolis Lakers were able to win a title in one of the major American sports leagues as the first team from Minneapolis. Between 1948 and 1954, the Lakers won a total of six titles in the NBA and NBL. In 1960, the team, the city and moved to Los Angeles. The American Wrestling Association was divided in 1957 by the NWA from and until its closure in 1991 based in Minneapolis.
The Vikings and Twins came to Minnesota in 1961. While the Vikings were an expansion team in the NFL, the Twins resulting from the relocation of the Washington Senators to Minneapolis. Both teams wore their home games at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington initially made . This changed in 1982 with the opening of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. This is with a capacity of up to 64 111 seats, the largest sports stadium in Minnesota. In the Metrodome, the Twins celebrated their biggest success when they won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. Since 2010, they play in the newly built Target Field. The Vikings plan to move to a new stadium. The Vikings Stadium is in the pipeline. However, the date of the opening is still open. With the Timberwolves Minneapolis received in 1989 again a team in the NBA. Together with the Minnesota Lynx, founded in 1999, a professional women's basketball team in the WNBA, they play their home games at the Target Center.
In addition, enjoy the sports teams of the University of Minnesota great popularity and was able to win numerous national titles in the past. The football team the Golden Gophers wearing their home games at TCF Bank Stadium opened in 2009. This provides 50,000 spectators. The Hockey teams will play in the Mariucci Arena and Ridder Arena.
Since 1982, the Twin Cities Marathon will take place in Saint Paul, starting in Minneapolis and Target.
Policy
Minneapolis belongs to the fifth congressional district of Minnesota and adjusts itself for elections usually a stronghold of the Minnesota Democratic - Farmer-Labor Party (DFL ) dar. The City Council ( Minneapolis City Council) is composed of 13 representatives of each city districts ( wards ). This includes twelve members of the DFL and a member of the Green Party. Mayor of Minneapolis since 1 January 2002, the Democrat RT Rybak.
The overriding administrative units include, apart from Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council, which is responsible for regional affairs in the metropolitan Minneapolis -Saint Paul.
Twinning
- Eldoret Kenya (since 2000)
- People's Republic of China Harbin (since 1992)
- Ibaraki Japan ( since 1980)
- Finland Kuopio ( since 1972)
- Russia Novosibirsk ( along with St. Paul, since 1988)
- Chile Santiago de Chile (since 1961)
- France Tours (since 1991)
- Uppsala Sweden (since 2000)
Furthermore, there are still informal partnerships with Hiroshima ( Japan) and Kampala (Uganda).