Raleigh is thriving, with new residents moving from all over the country and the world every day. North Carolina’s capital city has a unique distinction among all fifty state capitals, as having been totally planned. Prior to its being built in 1792, the city was laid out in a square with one-acre parks at each corner. The State House was placed in the center of the square.
As the city has grown, the downtown area, with its surrounding residential neighborhoods, parks and greenways, has been maintained as originally planned. In 1975, Raleigh was named the first Green Survival City in the United States.
Today, Raleigh’s growth parallels that of Research Triangle Park, a research corporate campus, home to corporations and high-tech industries from around the world. This kind of presence has provided Raleigh with diverse cultural and regional influences. As a result, Raleigh has become a city offering the best of both worlds — restaurants, cosmopolitan shops, educational, cultural and recreational activities as well as the slower-paced traditional small-town southern hospitality and charm.
The City of Raleigh presents a diverse composition of people, love of freedom, gritty work ethic, high esteem for education and that common sense approach to economic development, all combine to create one of the most robust environments in which North Carolina's capital city thrives today. Sir Walter would most decidedly be proud if he were to visit 21st century Raleigh today.