With a population of , according to the U. Serving as a major port , New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States. New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinctive music , Creole cuisine , unique dialects , and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras.
The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter , known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the United States, [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage.
Founded in by French colonists, New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before becoming part of the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of The city has historically been very vulnerable to flooding , due to its high rainfall, low lying elevation, poor natural drainage, and proximity to multiple bodies of water. State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city.
Concerns have been expressed about gentrification , new residents buying property in formerly close-knit communities, and displacement of longtime residents. Tammany Parish and Lake Pontchartrain to the north, St. The city anchors the larger Greater New Orleans metropolitan area , which had a population of 1,, in Before the arrival of European colonists, the indigenous Choctaw people called the area of present-day New Orleans Bulbancha , which translates as "land of many tongues".
In his book Histoire de la Louisiane , Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz wrote that the indigenous name referred to the Mississippi River and that the use of the same name for the settlement relates to Native American concepts of the close interaction between rivers and their surrounding land.
