The Bronx, the northernmost of New York City's five boroughs, is located northeast of Manhattan, and south of Westchester County. Although it is the most densely-populated county in the United States, about a quarter of its land is open space, which includes Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Gardens, and the Bronx Zoo. The Bronx still contains the nation's poorest Congressional District, it has a wide variety of neighborhoods, including the affluent Country Club, and Riverdale. As of the census of 2000, the Bronx had 1,332,650 people living within its limits.
The current number of neighborhoods contained within the Bronx is unclear with time, and with newcomers. According to the Department of City Planning, the Bronx has a listed number of 49 neighborhoods, while the map publisher indentifies 69, and the borough's president claims there are 61. However, most notable of these neighborhoods are: the East Bronx, the South Bronx, Little Italy, Riverdale, City Island, and the West Bronx. The East Bronx contains low income housing, tenement buildings, multi-family homes, as well as smaller and larger single-family homes. It also includes Pelham Bay Park, which is New York City's largest park. The name South Bronx has always been used to represent poverty. This area is filled with high density apartment buildings, multi-unit homes, and low-income public housing complexes. It is home to the Yankee Stadium, the Bronx County Courthouse, and Borough Hall. Little Italy is an area that is lined with delis, bakeries, cafes, and various Italian merchants, although it was in recent years that it has grown to include Mexican and Albanian restaurants. However, it is still viewed as one of the more Italian communities of New York and the Bronx. Riverdale is a middle- and upper-class residential neighborhood, and due to its rich history, has led to the creation of the Riverdale Historic District. City Island is known for its seafood restaurants and private waterfront homes. The West Bronx has more hills than the other areas of the Bronx, and is home to Van Cortlandt Park.
The Bronx contains several Off-off-Broadway theatres, and is also widely known to be a place known for hip-hop, which first emerged in the Bronx in the early 1970s. A few notable names in hip hop that came from the Bronx are Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa. Hush Hip Hop Tours have now made a sightseeing tour to point out the notable places that helped shape hip hop history. It is also home to the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Poe Cottage, where Edgar Allan Poe spent the last few years of his life, the Pregones Theatre, Lorelei Fountain, and the City Island Historical Society and Museum. Canoeing and kayaking on the Bronx river are also popular pastimes for the area.