Editing Norfolk, Virginia (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Newport news norfolk portsmouth.jpg|thumb|[[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Hampton, Virginia|Hampton]], [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight County]], [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]], [[Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]] and Norfolk, from space, July 1996. Norfolk is located in the upper-right quadrant; east is at the top.]]

The city is located at the southeastern corner of [[Virginia]] at the junction of the Elizabeth River and the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. The Hampton Roads [[United States metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]] (officially known as the [[Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA]]) is the [[Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas|37th largest]] in the United States, with an estimated population of 1,716,624 in 2014.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} The area includes the Virginia cities of Norfolk, [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]], [[Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake]], [[Hampton, Virginia|Hampton]], [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Poquoson, Virginia|Poquoson]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]], [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]], [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], and the counties of [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester]], [[Isle of Wight County, Virginia|Isle of Wight]], [[James City County, Virginia|James City]], [[Mathews County, Virginia|Mathews]], and [[York County, Virginia|York]], as well as the [[North Carolina]] counties of [[Currituck County, North Carolina|Currituck]] and [[Gates County, North Carolina|Gates]]. The city of Norfolk is recognized as the central business district, while the Virginia Beach oceanside resort district and [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] are primarily centers of tourism. Virginia Beach is the most populated city within the MSA though it functions more as a suburb. Additionally, Norfolk is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC [[Combined Statistical Area]], which includes the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA, the [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area]], and the [[Kill Devil Hills, NC]] Micropolitan Statistical Area. The CSA is the 32nd largest in the nation with an estimated population in 2013 of 1,810,266.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In addition to extensive riverfront property, Norfolk has miles of bayfront resort property and beaches in the [[Willoughby Spit]] and [[Ocean View, Virginia|Ocean View]] communities.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

===Sea level rise and subsidence===
[[File:Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, v2, 2010 Washington D.C., U.S. (13873799193).jpg|thumb|left|Population density and elevation above sea level around the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Norfolk is especially vulnerable to [[sea level rise]].]]
Being low-lying and largely surrounded by water, Norfolk is particularly vulnerable to [[Sea level rise|rising sea levels]] caused by [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Arnold |first=Carrie |date=December 27, 2020 |title=Rising to meet the tide against the threat of coastal flooding |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/12/rising-to-meet-the-tide-against-the-threat-of-coastal-flooding/ |access-date=2020-12-28 |via=Ars Technica |magazine=Knowable Mag |language=en-US}}</ref> In addition, the land on which it is built is [[Subsidence|slowly subsiding]]. Some areas already flood regularly at high tide, and the city commissioned a study in 2012 to investigate how to address the issue in the future: it reported the cost of dealing with a sea-level rise of one foot would be around $1,000,000,000. Since then, scientists at the [[Virginia Institute of Marine Science]] in 2013 have estimated that if current trends hold, the sea in Norfolk will rise by 5 and 1/2 feet or more by the end of this century.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Montgomery |first=Lori |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-norfolk-evidence-of-climate-change-is-in-the-streets-at-high-tide/2014/05/31/fe3ae860-e71f-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html |title=In Norfolk, evidence of climate change is in the streets at high tide |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2014-05-31 |access-date=2016-06-21}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Jarvis |first=Brooke |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/magazine/when-rising-seas-transform-risk-into-certainty.html |title=When Rising Seas Transform Risk Into Certainty |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2017-04-18 |access-date=2018-08-01}}</ref>

===Cityscape===
{{see also|List of tallest buildings in Norfolk, Virginia}}
[[File:Downtown Norfolk during the day.jpg|thumb|Downtown Norfolk]]
When Norfolk was first settled, homes were made of wood and [[Framing (construction)|frame]] construction, similar to most medieval English-style homes. These homes had wide [[chimney]]s and [[Thatching|thatch roofs]]. Some decades after the town was first laid out in 1682, the [[Georgian architecture|Georgian architectural style]], which was popular in the [[Southern United States|South]] at the time, was used. [[Brick]] was considered more substantial construction; patterns were made by brick laid and [[Flemish bond]]. This style evolved to include projecting center pavilions, [[Palladian architecture|Palladian]] windows, [[Baluster|balustraded]] roof decks, and two-story [[portico]]es. By 1740, homes, warehouses, stores, workshops, and taverns began to dot Norfolk's streets.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Norfolk was burned down during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. After the [[American Revolution|Revolution]], Norfolk was rebuilt in the [[Federal architecture|Federal]] style, based on Roman ideals. Federal-style homes kept Georgian symmetry, though they had more refined decorations to look like [[New World]] homes. Federal homes had features such as narrow sidelights with an embracing [[fanlight]] around the doorway, giant porticoes, gable or flat roofs, and projecting bays on exterior walls. Rooms were oval, elliptical or octagonal. Few of these federal [[rowhouse]]s remain standing today. A majority of buildings were made of wood and had a simple construction.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In the early nineteenth century, [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] architectural elements began to appear in the federal style row homes, such as [[Ionic order|ionic]] [[Classical order|columns]] in the porticoes and classic motifs over doorways and windows. Many [[Federal architecture|Federal-style]] row houses were modernized by placing a Greek-style porch at the front. Greek and Roman elements were integrated into public buildings such as the old City Hall, the old Norfolk Academy, and the Customs House.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Greek-style homes gave way to [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] in the 1830s, which emphasized [[pointed arch]]es, steep [[gable]] roofs, towers and tracer-lead windows. The Freemason Baptist Church and St. Mary's Catholic Church are examples of Gothic Revival. [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] elements emerged in the 1840s including [[cupola]]s, [[veranda]]s, ornamental [[brickwork]], or [[Quoin (architecture)|corner quoins]]. Norfolk still had simple wooden structures among its more ornate buildings.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

[[High-rise]] buildings were first built in the late nineteenth century when structures such as the current Commodore Maury Hotel and the Royster Building were constructed to form the initial Norfolk skyline. Past styles were revived during the early years of the twentieth century. [[Bungalow]]s and apartment buildings became popular for those living in the city.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

As the [[Great Depression]] wore on, [[Art Deco]] emerged as a popular building style, as evidenced by the Post Office building downtown. Art Deco consisted of streamlined [[concrete]] faced appearance with smooth [[rock (geology)|stone]] or metal, with [[terracotta]], and trimming consisting of [[glass]] and colored [[tile]]s.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

===Neighborhoods===
{{See also|List of neighborhoods in Norfolk, Virginia}}
[[File:Whittle House Norfolk.jpg|thumb|[[Taylor-Whittle House]] (c. 1790), now occupied by the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach and the Norfolk Historical Society<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jlnvb.org/?nd=house |title=Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach |publisher=Jlnvb.org |access-date=May 14, 2012}}</ref>]]
Norfolk has a variety of historic neighborhoods, notably Freemason and West Freemason. Some neighborhoods, such as [[Berkley, Virginia|Berkley]], were formerly cities and towns. Others, including [[Willoughby Spit]] and [[Ocean View, Virginia|Ocean View]], have a long history tied to the [[Chesapeake Bay]]. The city's revitalization in recent decades has transformed neighborhoods such as [[Downtown Norfolk, Virginia|Downtown]], [[Ghent district|Ghent]] and [[Fairmount Park Neighborhood|Fairmount Park]]. Popular residential neighborhoods include Ghent, Colonial Place, Larchmont, North Shore, Edgewater, and Lafayette Shores.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pros & Cons of Living in Norfolk, Virginia |url=https://lifeinhamptonroadsva.com/living-in-norfolk-virginia-top-pros-and-cons/ |website=Life in Hampton Roads Virginia}}</ref>

===Climate===
Narrative below is based on climate data from the 1991–2020 period. Norfolk has a [[humid subtropical climate]] and its USDA Hardiness Zone is 8a. Spring arrives in March with mild days and cool nights, and by late May, the temperature has warmed up considerably to herald warm summer days. Summers are consistently warm and humid, but the nearby Atlantic Ocean often exercises a slight cooling effect on daytime high temperatures, but a slight warming effect on nighttime low temperatures (compared to areas farther inland). As such, temperatures reach {{cvt|90|°F}} or higher on an average 35&nbsp;days annually,<ref name="NWS Wakefield, VA (AKQ)"/> and {{cvt|100|°F|1}} are uncommon, occurring in fewer than one-third of all years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/ |title=xmACIS2 |publisher=[[NOAA]] Regional Climate Centers |quote=1) "Single-Station → Seasonal time series"; 2) Annual max temp "maximum" or "number of days" ≥ 100; 3) "ORFthr" in the Station selection ID.}}</ref> On average, July is the warmest month, with a normal mean temperature of {{cvt|81.1|°F|1}}.<ref name="NWS Wakefield, VA (AKQ)"/> On average, July and August are the wettest months, due to frequent summer thunderstorm activity. In August and September, rainfall remains high, due to rising frequency of tropical activity (hurricanes and tropical storms), which can bring high winds and heavy rains. These usually brush Norfolk and only occasionally make landfalls in the area; the highest-risk period is mid-August to the end of September. [[Autumn|Fall]] is marked by mild to warm days and cooler nights. Winter is usually mild in Norfolk, with average winter days featuring lows near or slightly above freezing and highs in the upper-40s to mid-50s (8 to 13&nbsp;°C). On average, the coldest month of the year is January, with a normal mean temperature of {{cvt|42.2|°F|1}},<ref name="NWS Wakefield, VA (AKQ)"/> Snow occurs sporadically, with an average winter accumulation of {{cvt|6.2|in|cm|1}}.<ref name="NWS Wakefield, VA (AKQ)"/> Norfolk's record high was {{cvt|105|°F|0}} on August 7, 1918, and July 24 and 25, 2010, and the record low was {{cvt|−3|°F|0}} recorded on [[January 1985 Arctic outbreak|January 21, 1985]].<ref name="NWS Wakefield, VA (AKQ)"/>

{{Norfolk, Virginia weatherbox}}