Wichita Kansas

trading post industrial hub and regional center of culture media and trade

Wichita lies on the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas, 157 mi (253 km) north of Oklahoma City, 181 mi (291 km) southwest of Kansas City, and 439 mi (707 km) east-southeast of Denver. The Arkansas follows a winding course, south-southeast through Wichita, roughly bisecting the city.

A Trading Post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s, it became a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to Kansas railroads, earning it the nickname Cowtown.

Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement was organized as the Wichita Town Company, naming the settlement after the Wichita tribe. In the early 20^th century, oil and natural gas deposits were discovered nearby triggering an economic boom in Wichita as producers established refineries, fueling stations, and headquarters in the city. Resources generated by the oil boom enabled local entrepreneurs to invest in airplane manufacturing. Except for a slow period in the 1970s, Wichita has continued to grow steadily into the 21^st century as the city government and local organizations began collaborating to re-develop downtown Wichita and older neighborhoods in the city.

Neighborhoods include Old Town, a 50-acre area home to nightclubs, bars, restaurants, a movie theater, shops, apartments and condominiums, many of which make use of historical warehouse-type spaces. The two most notable residential areas of Wichita are Riverside and College Hill, along with Delano on the west side of the Arkansas River and Midtown in the north-central part of the city.

The Arts Wichita is a cultural center for Kansas and home to several art museums and performing arts groups. The Wichita Art Museum is the largest art museum in the state of Kansas with 7,000 works in permanent collections and the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University is a modern and contemporary art museum with over 6,300 works. Small art galleries are scattered around the city with some clustered in the districts of Old Town, Delano and south Commerce street. The music hub of central Kansas draws major acts from around the world, performing at concert halls, arenas and stadiums around the area.

Wichita Transit operates 53 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the city providing over 2 million trips per year as well as a demand response paratransit service with 320,800 passenger trips annually. Intercity bus services connect Wichita with other Kansas towns, Oklahoma and Colorado. Wichita's Bikeways cover 115 miles of which one third were added between 201 and 2018

Lafayette Louisiana

history geography local culture and transport services

History the Attakapas Native Americans inhabited this area when French colonists founded the first European settlement, Petit Manchac, a trading post. In the late eighteenth century, numerous Acadian refugees settled here after being expelled from Canada; intermarriage led to the Cajun culture which fostered the French language and the Catholic religion. Vermilionville was renamed in 1884 for General Lafayette, the French aristocrat who aided the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The city and parish economy continued to be based on agriculture into the early 20^th century. In the 1940s, after oil was discovered in the parish, oil and natural gas became dominant.

Lafayette lies along the Vermilion River in SW Louisiana; its nickname is The Hub City

Geography Lafayette is located on the Western rim of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland and swamp in the United States where, during the Quaternary Period, the Mississippi River cut a 325-foot-deep (99 m) valley between what is now Lafayette and Baton Rouge. The southwestern Louisiana Prairie Terrace does not suffer significant flooding, outside of local flash flooding.

Local Cultural Organizations include the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music, Chorale Acadienne, Lafayette Ballet Theatre and Dance Conservatory, The Lafayette Concert Band, and Performing Arts Society of Acadiana; as well as the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum and the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

Lafayette is the Center of Acadiana Louisiana’s Cajun and Creole Culture

Transport Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) is located on the southeast side of the city with daily scheduled passenger airline services to Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, and Atlanta. Charter services depart Lafayette Regional as well as helicopter services and cargo jets.

Amtrak’s Sunset Limited offers service three days a week from New Orleans and Los Angeles with selected stops in Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Intercity passenger bus service is via Greyhound that operates a Station Downtown and Lafayette Transit System provides bus service within Lafayette City Limits.

The Lafayette MPO Bicycle Subcommittee has developed long-term goals for bicycling and Bike Lafayette, the local bicycle advocacy organization, actively promotes bicycle awareness, safety, and education in Acadiana. TRAIL promotes bicycling, canoeing, and pedestrian activities.