Metro East
Region in Illinois, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Region in Illinois, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Metro East is an urban area in Southern Illinois, United States that contains the eastern and northern urban, suburban, and exurban areas across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. It encompasses eight counties in the Greater St. Louis area and constitutes the second-most populous metropolitan area in Illinois.
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2012) |
St. Louis Metro East | |
---|---|
Country | United States |
State | Illinois |
Largest city | Belleville, IL |
Other cities | |
Elevation | 142–390 m (466–1,280 ft) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 681,678 |
Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Area code(s) | 217, 314, 447, 557, 573, 618, 636, 730 |
A historically significant area, the region included the mound building native culture of Cahokia, and later French settlements of the Illinois Country. It also includes the fertile lands of the riparian American Bottom. The region has almost 700,000 residents and its most populated city is Belleville, with 42,404 residents.[1] The area hosts several colleges and universities, with Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville as the largest. Also located in Metro East is Scott Air Force Base.
The Metro East is a loose collection of small and mid-sized cities sitting along the American Bottom and the bluffs of the Mississippi River. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the eight counties of the region have a total area of 6,974 km2 (2,692 mi2). 6,787 km2 (2,620 mi2) of it is land and 186 km2 (71 mi2) of it (2.74%) is water.
As of the 2020 census, the most populated cities in the region included the following[2]
Principal cities |
City populations[3]
|
As of the 2010 census, there had been a major shift in population from the older rust belt industrial cities in the Mississippi River bottom, such as East St. Louis and Alton, to the more suburban satellite cities, such as, Belleville, Edwardsville, and O'Fallon sitting on the bluffs. This is mainly due to continued white flight.[4]
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 599,845 people, 229,888 households, and 160,260 families residing in the eight Metro East counties.
The most common language is English, although various other languages are spoken. German speakers exist in southeastern Madison, and Clinton, and southern and eastern St. Clair Counties. Spanish is spoken in the Fairmont City area, and in parts of Clinton County. The largest concentration of African-Americans is in Madison, Venice, western Granite City, East St. Louis, Washington Park, Belleville, Cahokia, Alorton and Alton.
Notes:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Public transit service in St. Clair County is provided by Metro Transit in partnership with the St. Clair County Transit District. Service includes local bus lines and the MetroLink light rail system. MetroLink has 11 stations in Illinois between the East St. Louis Riverfront and Scott Air Force Base. It links the suburban Metro East to St. Louis Lambert International Airport on the Red Line and Shrewsbury, Missouri on the Blue Line. Intermediate stops include downtown St. Louis, area universities and hospitals, and downtown Clayton.
In 2019, the St. Clair County Transit District was awarded $96 million in Illinois infrastructure funding to build a 5.2-mile (8.4 km) extension of the Red Line from Shiloh-Scott to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah.[6] This extension will include two 2.6-mile (4.2 km) segments, a double-track and a single-track segment, along with a station at the airport.[7] Construction on the extension began in 2023 with Metro expecting to begin operations in early 2026.[8][9][10]
Additionally, Madison County Transit operates local bus service in that county with routes that serve downtown St. Louis transit centers.[11]
|
See also: Radio stations in Illinois
"Uncredited" means a Metro East location was not credited within the database, but was clearly shot on Metro East soil upon watching the film itself.
Laurell K. Hamilton has used the Metro East as a setting in several books from the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series. In the Merry Gentry series, fairies of the Unseelie Court have made their home in Monk's Mound.
Robert J. Randisi set one of his Joe Keough mysteries, East of the Arch (2002), in the Metro East communities of East St. Louis and Fairview Heights.[12]
The 2010 issue of Family Circle magazine named Edwardsville third in their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families".[13]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.