Commitment to the Future
Hampton University’s Proton Therapy Institute
16 • Coastal Virginia 2013-14
County
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
Pointe, Isle of Wight
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 34th largest metro area, just ahead of Charlotte, with 1.6 million people—and the fifth 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 Founders
Community Profiles: Quality of Life
Communities Sharing a Rich Past and
Virginia Beach, the town of Smithfield, and the counties of Isle of Wight, Southampton and Surry—comprise an area called the “Southside.”