Norfolk is a waterfront city in southeastern Virginia, encompassing 66 square miles, with a population of around 250,000. The city has 144 miles of shoreline, including 7 miles of beachfront on the Chesapeake Bay.
Norfolk is home to the largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk, as well as the North American Headquarters for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Port of Virginia, and U.S.S. Wisconsin battleship, situated in the city’s vibrant harbor. Other attractions that Norfolk is known for include the Virginia Opera, the Virginia Stage Company, the Virginia Symphony, the Virginia Arts Festival, Chrysler Hall, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial, the National Maritime Center, and numerous cruise vessels that stop at the Half Moone Cruise & Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk.
Norfolk is proud to be the urban core of the region and was recognized by USA Today as one of the Top 10 booming downtowns due to the City’s decades-long housing, retail, and financial boom. The City is home to the Norfolk Botanical Garden and has been recognized as a Tree City.
The Norfolk-Virginia Beach Metropolitan Area ranks 10th in the world in value of assets exposed to increased flooding, brought on by sea level rise. Among the assets most at risk in Norfolk is Naval Station Norfolk. The City has created a Resilience Strategy, which is an integrative process of planning, preparing, mitigating and communicating to reduce flood danger and help the community better cope with severe storms. Norfolk has collaborated with research specialists in the private and public sectors to create sound public policy and effective plans and was a proud member of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities.
Norfolk participates in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System, which gives Norfolk residents a 15% discount on their flood insurance. The City is proud to partner with all 16 Hampton Roads localities to ensure successful regional preparedness and recovery. Additionally, in June of 2019, the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management Study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into the Preconstruction Engineering and Design phase.
