ORLANDO-KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA, METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA

The 'Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area' (MSA), also known as the 'Orlando Area', 'Metro Orlando' or (more colloquially) 'Greater Orlando', is the state of Florida's third most populated metropolitan region, and the 27th-largest metro area in the United States. The MSA consists of Lake, Osceola, Orange and Seminole Counties. The Orlando Area has a population of 1,984,855 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2006 population estimates. The size of the city of Orlando is very unusual for a metropolitan area of its size since most of the inhabitants of the area live in the suburbs and surrounding areas in Orange and Seminole counties, whereas the total population of the city proper is only 213,223 people (2005 estimate).
The Orlando-Kissimmee MSA is also combined with the metropolitan areas of Deltona (Volusia County) and Palm Coast (Flagler County), plus the micropolitan area of The Villages (Sumter County), to create the 'Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, Florida, Combined Statistical Area'^[1] with a total population (as of 2005) of 2,633,282. [1]
Many consider Brevard County a part of Greater Orlando as well, with smaller numbers also include Indian River County. Some consider there to be a rivalry between Greater Orlando and the Tampa Bay Area over which region Polk County is part of. Polk is served by media outlets from both regions, but for now is its own metropolitan area. An in-joke within the county is Orlampa, near the exact half-way point between Downtown Tampa and Downtown Orlando along Interstate 4.
Greater Orlando and the Tampa Bay Area combine to form the 'I-4 Corridor', a terminology for the entire region of the state as tied together by Interstate 4.

Contents

Cities

Primary Cities

Suburbs with more than 10,000 inhabitants

Suburbs with less than 10,000 inhabitants

Commerce

Transportation

Roads

Mass transit

Airlines

References

External links

Cities

Primary Cities

★ Orlando

★ Kissimmee

Suburbs with more than 10,000 inhabitants

★ Altamonte Springs

★ Apopka

★ Azalea Park

★ Buenaventura Lakes

★ Casselberry

★ Citrus Ridge

★ Clermont

★ Conway

★ Eustis

★ Fairview Shores

★ Goldenrod

★ Lady Lake

★ Lake Mary

★ Leesburg

★ Lockhart

★ Longwood

★ Maitland

★ Meadow Woods

★ Mount Dora

★ Oak Ridge

★ Ocoee

★ Oviedo

★ Pine Hills

★ Poinciana

★ Saint Cloud

★ Sanford

★ Tavares

★ Union Park

★ Wekiwa Springs

★ Winter Garden

★ Winter Park

★ Winter Springs

Suburbs with less than 10,000 inhabitants

★ Altoona

★ Astatula

★ Astor

★ Bay Lake

★ Bay Hill

★ Bithlo

★ Belle Isle

★ Campbell

★ Celebration

★ Christmas

★ Chuluota

★ Doctor Phillips

★ Eatonville

★ Edgewood

★ Ferndale

★ Fern Park

★ Fruitland Park

★ Geneva

★ Gotha

★ Groveland

★ Holden Heights

★ Howey-in-the-Hills

★ Hunters Creek

★ Lake Buena Vista

★ Lake Butler

★ Lake Hart

★ Lake Kathryn

★ Lake Mack-Forest Hills

★ Lisbon

★ Mascotte

★ Midway

★ Minneola

★ Montverde

★ Mount Plymouth

★ Oakland

★ Okahumpka

★ Orlo Vista

★ Paisley

★ Paradise Heights

★ Pine Castle

★ Pittman

★ Silver Lake

★ Sky Lake

★ Sorrento

★ South Apopka

★ Southchase

★ Taft

★ Tangelo Park

★ Tangerine

★ Tildenville

★ Umatilla

★ University Park

★ Vineland

★ Wedgefield

★ Williamsburg

★ Windermere

★ Yalaha

★ Yeehaw Junction

★ Zellwood

Commerce

Greater Orlando is best known for its tourism industry, which attracts millions of visitors each year. Some consider Orlando (with many referring to Walt Disney World Resort in particular) to be the "vacation capitol of the world".
The citrus industry has declined over the past 100 years as farmers moved orange groves further south to more frostproof areas. Some consider the Christmas 1989 freeze to be the death knell of commercial citrus farming within Greater Orlando. Only one major orange juice plant remains in the area, in Apopka. Originally the first juicing plant of Minute Maid, it is now owned by the Florida's Natural Growers orange cooperative.
Other agricultural pursuits, particularly cattle farming, remain important parts of the Central Florida economy.
Central Florida has served as a major military defense and aerospace center since the Cold War. Most prominent is Lockheed Martin, which operates both a laboratory and a manufacturing facility in Orlando. Military presence has been important since World War II, with McCoy Air Force Base, originally Pinecastle Army Air Field and now the location of Orlando International Airport, and Naval Training Center Orlando downtown during the Cold War. McCoy AFB was a major hub of B-52 Stratofortress operations. McCoy AFB was split between the city (for the new Airport) and NTC Orlando in 1974, and NTC Orlando closed in the mid-1990s. Orlando Sanford International Airport was originally Naval Air Station Sanford.
Central Florida is a growing technology center. University of Central Florida is regarded as one of the best computer and engineering public universities in the United States, and is about to receive a Medical School. It also hosts offices for Oracle Corporation and Electronic Arts, and was formerly a manufacturing point for Lucent Technologies.

Transportation

Roads

Major highways crossing the Orlando area include:

★ Florida's Turnpike, which heads southeast to the Treasure Coast and South Florida, as well as northwest to connect to Interstate 75 south of Ocala

★ Interstate 4, which meets Florida's Turnpike near the Walt Disney World Resort, heads north through the Orlando area to Daytona Beach and southwest to Lakeland and Tampa

★ The Beachline (Formerly Bee Line Expressway; SR 528), which meets I-4 near SeaWorld and connects to the Orlando International Airport, Space Coast, Cape Canaveral, and the John F. Kennedy Space Center

★ The Central Florida Greeneway (SR 417), which passes around the edge of the eastern half of the area as a beltway, and connects to both Orlando International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport

★ The East-West Expressway (SR 408), which crosses the area from west (where it connects to Florida's Turnpike) to east (where it connects to Colonial Drive, south of UCF), passing through downtown Orlando, where it connects to Interstate 4

★ The Western Expressway (SR 429), which is under construction, and will eventually serve as a beltway in the western half of the area, connecting to Interstate 4 on both ends from Sanford in the north, through Apopka and Ocoee, and around the west side of Walt Disney World to connect southwest of Kissimmee

★ Orange Blossom Trail (US 17-92-441) also pass through the area, along with US 192 and Colonial Drive (SR 50)
The Beachline, Central Florida Greeneway, East-West Expressway and Western Expressway are all run by the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority.
Because of the massive urban sprawl in the area and outdated and unplanned transit infrastructure, traffic congestion is a growing concern. Fundamentally, the lack of east-west mobility in the area creates severe traffic issues every weekday.

Mass transit

Bus transportation in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties is provided by Lynx. Lynx is also doing studies into mass transit in the form of light rail, which has received varying degrees of support over the past decade.
The Central Florida Commuter Rail system will open for operation in 2010. When completed by 2013, it will eventually connect from DeLand to Poinciana through Downtown Orlando.
Orlando is usually named as the initial focus of plans for a Florida High Speed Rail system.

Airlines

In addition to municipal airports, the primary major airports of the area are Orlando International Airport, at SR 528 Exit 11, and Orlando Sanford International Airport, at SR 417 Exit 49. Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), off of SR 50 just east of Downtown Orlando, serves charter airlines and general aviation. Orlando International (MCO) serves as a hub to Delta Connection carriers Chautauqua Airlines and Freedom Airlines; and is a focus city of Delta Air Lines, AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines. AirTran Airways is headquartered in Orlando, but its main hub is in Atlanta; Orlando is its largest focus city, providing more nonstop destinations than any other AirTran location outside Atlanta, and connections to every AirTran U.S. destination outside Florida. Orlando Sanford International (SFB) is usually served by charter flights from Europe, though it is also a hub for national small-city carrier Allegiant Air.
In the Combined Statistical Area, Daytona Beach International Airport also serves the area, and is used by many tourists seeking to directly connect to Daytona Beach's many local offerings, such as Daytona Beach Bike Week, Speedweeks and Spring Break. It is located so its runways cradle Daytona International Speedway, making it convenient for some fans to arrive in Daytona, watch the Daytona 500 or Pepsi 400, and then return home the same day.

References

1. Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses, page 115

External links

★ The Orlando Travel & Visitors Bureau

★ The Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce

★ Orlando City Guide