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The city also boasts a number of private and parochial schools. After the Thunder's win over the on February 11, 2012, was named as the head coach for the Western Conference All-Star squad for the in. Their final playoff opponent, in the Western Conference Finals, was the San Antonio Spurs, with the Spurs winning, 4—2. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

Thunder fans are also reportedly much more likely to attend major home games than most other NBA fanbases. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 27, 2016.

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For other uses, see. Oklahoma City , often shortened to OKC, is the and largest city of the of. The of , the city ranks among United States cities in population. The population grew following the 2010 Census, with the population estimated to have increased to 643,648 as of July 2017. As of 2015, the had a population of 1,358,452, and the Oklahoma City- had a population of 1,459,758 residents, making it Oklahoma's largest metropolitan area. The city ranks as the including ; it is the largest city in the United States by land area after , whose government is similarly not consolidated with that of a county or borough. Lying in the region, Oklahoma City has one of the world's largest livestock markets. Oil, natural gas, and related industries are the largest sector of the local economy. The city is in the middle of an active oil field and dot the capitol grounds. The employs large numbers of workers at and the 's these two sites house several offices of the and the Transportation Department's Enterprise Service Center, respectively. Oklahoma City is on the , which is one of the primary travel corridors south into neighboring Texas and and north towards and. Located in the state's region, the city's northeast section lies in an ecological region known as the. The city was founded during the , and grew to a population of over 10,000 within hours of its founding. The city was the scene of the of the , in which 168 people died. It was the deadliest terror attack in the history of the United States until , and remains the deadliest act of in U. Since the time have been kept, Oklahoma City has been struck by thirteen strong ; eleven of these tornadoes were rated F4 or EF4 on the and , and two were rated F5 or EF5. Since 2008, Oklahoma City has been home to the NBA 's , who play their home basketball games at the. Map of Indian Territory Oklahoma 1889, showing Oklahoma as a train stop on a railroad line. Some 10,000 settled the area that would become the capital of Oklahoma. The town grew quickly; the population doubled between 1890 and 1900. Early leaders of the development of the city included Anton Classen, John Shartel, and. Soon after, the capital was moved from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. Before , Oklahoma City developed major , attracting jobs and revenue formerly in and. With the 1928 discovery of oil within the city limits including under the State Capitol , Oklahoma City became a major center of oil production. Post-war growth accompanied the construction of the , which made Oklahoma City a major interchange as the convergence of I-35, I-40 and I-44. It was also aided by federal development of. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 8. Latting was also the first woman to serve as mayor of a U. Oklahoma City National Memorial at Christmas Like many other American cities, center city population declined in the 1970s and 1980s as families followed newly constructed highways to move to newer housing in nearby suburbs. A notable exception was the city's construction of the , a botanical garden and modernistic in the heart of downtown. Architecturally significant historic buildings lost to clearances were the Criterion Theater, the Baum Building, the Hales Building, and the Biltmore Hotel. In 1993, the city passed a massive redevelopment package known as the MAPS , intended to rebuild the city's core with civic projects to establish more activities and life to downtown. The city added a new ; central library; renovations to the , and fairgrounds; and a water canal in the entertainment district. Water taxis transport passengers within the district, adding color and activity along the canal. MAPS has become one of the most successful public-private partnerships undertaken in the U. As a result of MAPS, the population living in downtown housing has exponentially increased, together with demand for additional residential and retail amenities, such as grocery, services, and shops. Since the MAPS projects' completion, the downtown area has seen continued development. Notable among these was the restoration of the in 2007. The famed is being renovated. Residents of Oklahoma City suffered substantial losses on April 19, 1995 when in front of the. The building was destroyed the remnants of which had to be imploded in a controlled demolition later that year , more than 100 nearby buildings suffered severe damage, and 168 people were killed. The site has been commemorated as the and Museum. Since its opening in 2000, over three million people have visited. Every year on April 19, survivors, families and friends return to the memorial to read the names of each person lost. On June 11, 2001, McVeigh was executed by. This also allows the central portion of the city to expand south and connect with the shore of the Oklahoma River. Mid-May 2006 photograph of Oklahoma City taken from the ISS Oklahoma City lies along one of the primary corridors into and , and is a three-hour drive from the. The city is in the region in the center of the state, making it an ideal location for state government. According to the , the city has a total area of 620. Oklahoma City lies in the Sandstone Hills region of Oklahoma, known for hills of 250 to 400 feet 120 m and two species of oak: Quercus marilandica and Q. The northeastern part of the city and its eastern suburbs fall into an ecological region known as the. The city is roughly bisected by the recently renamed the Oklahoma River inside city limits. The North Canadian once had sufficient flow to flood every year, wreaking destruction on surrounding areas, including the central business district and the original Oklahoma City Zoo. In the 1940s, a dam was built on the river to manage the flood control and reduced its level. In the 1990s, as part of the citywide revitalization project known as MAPS, the city built a series of low-water dams, returning water to the portion of the river flowing near downtown. The city has three large lakes: and , in the northwestern quarter of the city; and the largest, , in the city's sparsely populated far southeast portion. The population density normally reported for Oklahoma City using the area of its city limits can be misleading. Its urbanized zone covers roughly 244 sq mi 630 km 2 resulting in a density of 2,500 per square mile 2013 est , compared with larger rural watershed areas incorporated by the city, which cover the remaining 377 sq mi 980 km 2 of the city limits. Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in the nation in compliance with the. Main article: Rank Building Height Floors Built Ref. The city is bisected geographically and culturally by the North Canadian River, which basically divides North Oklahoma City and South Oklahoma City. The north side is characterized by very diverse and fashionable urban neighborhoods near the city center and sprawling suburbs further north. South Oklahoma City is generally more blue collar working class and significantly more industrial, having grown up around the Stockyards and meat packing plants at the turn of the century, and is the center of the city's rapidly growing Latino community. The centerpiece of downtown is the newly renovated Crystal Bridge and Myriad Botanical Gardens, one of the few elements of the to be completed. Climate Main article: Oklahoma City has a : Cfa , featuring hot, humid summers, and cool winters with occasional snowfall. Prolonged and severe droughts sometimes leading to wildfires in the vicinity as well as very heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding and flooding occur with some regularity. Consistent winds, usually from the south or south-southeast during the summer, help temper the hotter weather. Consistent northerly winds during the winter can intensify cold periods. Severe and happen sporadically during the winter. The average temperature is 61. Temperatures reach 100 °F 38 °C on 10. The city receives about 35. This definition is based on days receiving more than one inch of rainfall. Extreme weather Oklahoma City has a very active severe weather season from March through June, especially during April and May. Being in the center of what is colloquially referred to as , it is prone to especially frequent and severe tornadoes, as well as very severe and occasional. Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year and a secondary smaller peak also occurs during autumn, especially October. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is one of the most tornado-prone major cities in the world, with about 150 tornadoes striking within the city limits since 1890. On , parts of Oklahoma City and surrounding communities were impacted by a tornado. It was the last U. A second top-of-the-scale tornado occurred on May 20, 2013; South Oklahoma City, along with and , was hit by an tornado. The tornado was 0. On May 31, less than two weeks after the May 20 event, affected the Oklahoma City area. Within Oklahoma City, the system spawned an EF1 and an EF0 tornado, and in El Reno to the west, an EF3 tornado occurred. Across Oklahoma and Texas generally, there was record. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other yellow As of the 2010 census, there were 579,999 people, 230,233 households, and 144,120 families residing in the city. The population density was 956. There were 256,930 housing units at an average density of 375. Of Oklahoma City's 579,999 people, 44,541 reside in Canadian County, 63,723 reside in Cleveland County, 471,671 reside in Oklahoma County, and 64 reside in Pottawatomie County. There were 230,233 households, 29. One person households account for 30. The average household size was 2. Out of the total population, 23. In the 2000 Census, Oklahoma City's age composition was 25. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 95. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92. Oklahoma City has experienced significant population increases since the late 1990s. Since the official Census in 2000, Oklahoma City has grown 25 percent a 125,214 raw increase according to the Bureau estimates. The 2016 estimate of 638,367 is the largest population Oklahoma City has ever recorded. It is the first city in the state to record a population greater than 600,000 residents. It is also the first city in the region to record a population greater than 600,000 residents. It is the largest municipal population of the region Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota. Racial composition 2010 1990 1970 1940 62. As of 2015, the metropolitan area was the based on population. Crime Law enforcement claims Oklahoma City has traditionally been the territory of the notorious , but the has been reported as trying to establish a foothold in Oklahoma City. There are many rival gangs in Oklahoma City, one whose headquarters has been established in the city, the Southside Locos, traditionally known as. Oklahoma City also has its share of violent crimes, particularly in the 1970s. The worst of which occurred in 1978, when six employees of a Sirloin Stockade restaurant on the city's south side were murdered execution-style in the restaurant's freezer. An intensive investigation followed, and the three individuals involved, who also killed three others in , were identified. One, Harold Stafford, died in a motorcycle accident in not long after the restaurant murders. Another, Verna Stafford, was sentenced to life without parole after being granted a new trial after she had been sentenced to death. The Murrah Federal Building after the On April 19, 1995, the was destroyed by a fertilizer bomb manufactured and detonated by. The blast and catastrophic collapse killed 168 people and injured over 680. McVeigh was convicted and subsequently executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. The restaurant chain is headquartered in Oklahoma City. The economy of Oklahoma City, once just a regional power center of government and energy exploration, has since diversified to include the sectors of information technology, , , and administration. The city is headquarters to two companies: and , as well as being home to , which is ranked thirteenth on ' list of private companies. As of July 2014, the Top 15 employers in the city were: Employer of employees 1 SEAT 40,000 and over 2 5,000 and over 3 HQ 5,000 and over 4 5,000 and over 5 HQ 5,000 and over 6 City of Oklahoma City SEAT 3,000 and over 7 HQ 3,000 and over 8 HQ 3,000 and over 9 HQ 3,000 and over 10 HQ 3,000 and over 11 3,000 and over 12 HQ 3,000 and over 13 3,000 and over 14 HQ 3,000 and over 15 Regional HQ 1,000 and over 16 HQ 1,000 and over 17 1,000 and over 18 1,000 and over 19 1,000 and over 20 HQ 1,000 and over Other major corporations with a large presence over 1000 employees in the city of Oklahoma City include , , , , Great Plains Bottling Company, , , , , , , Rose State College, and Continental Resources. While not in the city limits, other large employers within the Oklahoma City MSA include 27,000 ; 11,900 ; 2,900 ; and 2,800. According to the , the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 33% between 2001 and 2005 due chiefly to economic diversification. The magazine reported that the city had falling unemployment, one of the strongest housing markets in the country and solid growth in energy, agriculture and manufacturing. However, during the early 1980s, Oklahoma City had one of the worst job and housing markets due to the bankruptcy of in 1982 and then the post-1985 crash in oil prices oil bust. See also: Business and entertainment districts and to a lesser extent local neighborhoods tend to maintain their boundaries and character through the application of zoning regulations and business improvement districts districts where property owners agree to a property tax surcharge to support additional services for the community. Through zoning regulations, historic districts, and other special zoning districts, including overlay districts, are well established. Oklahoma City has three business improvement districts, including one encompassing the. Water taxis in Oklahoma City's downtown Bricktown neighborhood The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is the new downtown home for the. The museum features visiting exhibits, original selections from its own collection, a theater showing a variety of foreign, independent, and classic films each week, and a restaurant. OKCMOA is also home to the most comprehensive collection of glass in the world including the 55-foot Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum's atrium. The art deco , which was totally renovated in 2001, has performances from the Oklahoma City Ballet, the Oklahoma City Opera, the and also various concerts and traveling. The Survivor Tree on the grounds of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Other theaters include Lyric Theatre, Jewel Box Theatre, Kirkpatrick Auditorium, the Poteet Theatre, the Oklahoma City Community College Bruce Owen Theater and the 488-seat Petree Recital Hall, at the campus. The university also opened the Wanda L Bass School of Music and auditorium in April 2006. The formerly Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex houses exhibits on science, aviation, and an theater. The museum formerly housed the International Photography Hall of Fame IPHF that exhibits photographs and artifacts from a large collection of cameras and other artifacts preserving the history of photography. The houses more than 300 real animal skeletons. Focusing on the form and function of the skeletal system, this 7,000 sq ft 650 m 2 museum displays hundreds of skulls and skeletons from all corners of the world. Exhibits include adaptation, locomotion, classification and diversity of the vertebrate kingdom. The Museum of Osteology is the only one of its kind in America. The has galleries of western art and is home to the. In contrast, the city will also be home to The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum that began construction in 2009 although completion of the facility has been held up due to insufficient funding , on the south side of Interstate 40, southeast from Bricktown. Murrah Federal Building complex prior to its 1995 bombing. The outdoor Symbolic Memorial can be visited 24 hours a day for free, and the adjacent Memorial Museum, in the former Journal Record building damaged by the bombing, can be entered for a small fee. The site is also home to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, a non-partisan, nonprofit devoted to the prevention of terrorism. The American Banjo Museum in the Entertainment district is dedicated to preserving and promoting the music and heritage of the banjo. The is the history museum of the state of Oklahoma. Across the street from the governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in northeast Oklahoma City, the museum opened in 2005 and is operated by the. It preserves the history of Oklahoma from the prehistoric to the present day. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City Dodgers and the Big 12 Baseball Tournament Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the of the. Other professional sports clubs in Oklahoma City include the , the Triple-A affiliate of the , the of the , and the Crusaders of Oklahoma Rugby Football Club of. The Oklahoma City Blazers, a name used for decades of the city's hockey team in the has been used for in the since 2014. In 2008, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the major tenant. Nearby in Bricktown, the is the home to the city's baseball team, the Dodgers. The city has held the 2005 and and hosted the Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments in 2007 and 2009. The major universities in the area — , , and — often schedule major basketball games and other sporting events at Chesapeake Energy Arena and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, although most home games are played at their campus stadiums. Other major sporting events include Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing circuits at and numerous and equine events that take place at the state fairgrounds each year. There are numerous golf courses and country clubs spread around the city. High school football The state of Oklahoma hosts a highly competitive high school football culture, with many teams in the. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association OSSAA organizes high school football into eight distinct classes based on the size of school enrollment. Beginning with the largest, the classes are: 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, A, B, and C. Class 6A is broken into two divisions. Oklahoma City area schools in this division include Edmond Memorial, Mustang, Moore, Yukon, Edmond North, Edmond Santa Fe, Norman North, Westmoore, Southmoore, Putnam City North, Norman, Putnam City, Putnam City West, U. Grant, and Midwest City. Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA has called Oklahoma City home since the , when owner relocated the franchise from , Washington. The Thunder play home games at the in downtown Oklahoma City, known affectionately in the national media as 'the Peake' and 'Loud City'. After an arrival to Oklahoma City for the 2008—09 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder secured a berth 8th in the the next year after boasting its first 50-win season, winning two games in the first round against the. In 2012, Oklahoma City made it to the , but lost to the in five games. In 2013 the Thunder reached the semi-finals without guard , who was injured in their first round series against the , only to lose to the. In 2014 Oklahoma City again reached the NBA's Western Conference Finals but eventually lost to the in six games. The Oklahoma City Thunder has been regarded by sports analysts as one of the elite franchises of the NBA's Western Conference and that of a media darling as the future of the league. Oklahoma City has earned titles every year since 2009, until 2017, and has consistently improved its win record to 59-wins in 2014. The Thunder is led by third year head coach and is anchored by All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook. Hornets Main article: In the aftermath of , the NBA's New Orleans Hornets now the temporarily relocated to the , playing the majority of its home games there during the 2005—06 and 2006—07 seasons. The team became the first NBA franchise to play regular-season games in the state of Oklahoma. The team ultimately returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007—08 season. The Hornets played their final home game in Oklahoma City during the exhibition season on October 9, 2007 against the. Myriad Botanical Gardens, the centerpiece of downtown OKC One of the more prominent landmarks downtown is the Crystal Bridge at the , a large downtown urban park. Designed by , the Crystal Bridge is a tropical conservatory in the area. The park has an amphitheater, known as the Water Stage. In 2007, following a renovation of the stage, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park relocated to the Myriad Gardens. The Myriad Gardens will undergo a massive renovation in conjunction with the recently built Devon Tower directly north of it. The is home to numerous natural habitats, era architecture and landscaping, and hosts major touring concerts during the summer at its amphitheater. Oklahoma City also has two amusement parks, Frontier City theme park and water park. Frontier City is an 'Old West'-themed amusement park. Frontier City also hosts a national concert circuit at its amphitheater during the summer. Oklahoma City also has a combination racetrack and casino open year-round, , which hosts both March — June and August — December seasons. Walking trails line Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser in the northwest part of the city and downtown at the canal and the. The majority of the east shore area is taken up by parks and trails, including a new leashless dog park and the postwar-era Stars and Stripes Park. Lake Stanley Draper is the city's largest and most remote lake. Oklahoma City has a major park in each quadrant of the city, going back to the first parks masterplan. Will Rogers Park is home to the Lycan Conservatory, the Rose Garden, and Butterfly Garden, all built in the WPA era. Oklahoma City is home to the , which houses a large collection of highly decorated banjos from the early 20th century and exhibits on the history of the banjo and its place in American history. Concerts and lectures are also held there. In April 2005, the Oklahoma City Skate Park at Wiley Post Park was renamed the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park to recognize , an Oklahoma City area resident and businessman that was instrumental in the design of the skate park and is a 10-time BMX World Vert champion. Eight councilpersons represent each of the eight wards of Oklahoma City. City Manager Jim Couch was appointed in late 2000. Couch was assistant city manager, MAPS director and utilities director prior to his service as city manager. Politics Similar to many American cities, Oklahoma City is politically in its suburbs, and in the central city. The city has called on residents to vote for sales tax-based projects to revitalize parts of the city. The district is the best example of such an initiative. In the recent vote, the city's fraternal order of police criticized the project proposals for not doing enough to expand the police presence to keep up with the growing residential population and increased commercial activity. In September 2013, Oklahoma City area attorney David Slane announced he would pursue legal action regarding MAPS3, on claims the multiple projects that made up the plan violate a state constitutional law limiting voter ballot issues to a single subject. Oklahoma City region population dot map and 2016 Presidential election results by precinct. Oklahoma County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 15, 2017 Party Number of Voters Percentage 161,292 38. OCU has its main campus in the north-central section of the city, near the city's area. OCU Law is in the Midtown district near downtown, in the old Central High School building. The has several institutions of higher learning in the city and metropolitan area, with and the campuses east of downtown in the district, and the main campus to the south in the suburb of. The OU Medicine hosting the state's only Level-One. OU Health Sciences Center is one of the nation's largest independent medical centers, employing more than 12,000 people. OU is one of only four major universities in the nation to operate six medical schools. Park on the campus of the OU Health Sciences Center in south Oklahoma City is the second-largest community college in the state. Northeast of the city is , the state's HBCU. Langston also has an urban campus in the section of the city. Although technically not a university, the FAA's has many aspects of an institution of higher learning. Its FAA Academy is accredited by the. Its CAMI has a medical education division responsible for aeromedical education in general as well as the education of aviation medical examiners in the U. In addition, The offers Research Associateship Programs for fellowship and other grants for CAMI research. Primary and secondary Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School Oklahoma City is home to the state's largest school district,. In addition, OKCPS's Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School was named the top middle school in the state according to the Academic Performance Index, and recently received the Award, in 2004 and again in 2011. KIPP Reach College Preparatory School in Oklahoma City received the 2012 National Blue Ribbon along with its school leader, Tracy McDaniel Sr. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership. The , a school for some of the state's most gifted math and science pupils, is also in Oklahoma City. Due to Oklahoma City's explosive growth, parts of several suburban districts spill into the city, including in the northwest, in the south, and in the southeast. The city also boasts a number of private and parochial schools. Two prominent schools of the include and. Other private schools include. CareerTech Oklahoma City has several public career and technology education schools associated with the , the largest of which are and. Private career and technology education schools in Oklahoma City include , Platt College, , and Heritage College. The in Oklahoma City is a nonprofit vocational training center for individuals with disabilities. See also: Print is Oklahoma City's major daily newspaper and is the most widely circulated in the state. Oklahoma Gazette is Oklahoma City's independent newsweekly, featuring such staples as local commentary, feature stories, restaurant reviews and movie listings and music and entertainment. The Journal Record is the city's daily business newspaper, and okcBIZ is a monthly publication that covers business news affecting those who live and work in Central Oklahoma. Numerous community and international newspapers cater to the city's ethnic mosaic, such as , headquartered in the , the OK VIETIMES and Oklahoma Chinese Times, in , and various Hispanic community publications. The Campus is the student newspaper at Oklahoma City University. Gay publications include The Gayly Oklahoman. An upscale lifestyle publication called Slice Magazine is circulated throughout the metropolitan area. In addition, there is a magazine published by Back40 Design Group called The Edmond Outlook. It contains local commentary and human interest pieces direct-mailed to over 50,000 Edmond residents. Broadcast Oklahoma City was home to several pioneers in radio and television broadcasting. Oklahoma City's Radio was the first radio station transmitting west of the and the third radio station in the United States. WKY received its federal license in 1921 and has continually broadcast under the same call letters since 1922. In 1928, WKY was purchased by 's Oklahoma Publishing Company and affiliated with the ; in 1949, WKY-TV channel 4 went on the air and later became the first independently owned television station in the U. In mid-2002, WKY radio was purchased outright by , who was bought out by in 2011. The Gaylord family earlier sold WKY-TV in 1976, which has gone through a succession of owners what is now is owned by as of December 2013. The market is also home to several religious stations including owned-and-operated station channel 14 and Norman-based owned-and-operated station channel 46. Despite the market's geographical size, none of the English-language commercial affiliates in the Oklahoma City designated market area operate full-power satellite stations covering the far northwestern part of the state requiring cable or satellite to view them , though KFOR-TV, KOCO-TV, KWTV-DT and KOKH-TV each operate low-power translators in that portion of the market. Oklahoma City is one of the few markets between Chicago and Dallas to have affiliates of two or more of the major Spanish-language broadcast networks: affiliate channel 30 , -based affiliate 35 whose translator KUOK-CD, channel 36, serves the immediate Oklahoma City area , affiliate channel 45 and affiliate channel 48. Fire department Oklahoma City is protected by the Oklahoma City Fire Department OKCFD , which employs 1015 paid, professional firefighters. The current Chief of Department is G. Keith Bryant, the department is also commanded by three Deputy Chiefs, who — along with the department chief — oversee the Operational Services, Prevention Services, and Support Services bureaus. The OKCFD operates out of 37 fire stations throughout the city in six battalions. The OKCFD also operates a fire apparatus fleet of 36 engines including 30 paramedic engines , 13 ladders, 16 brush patrol units, six water tankers, two hazardous materials units, one Technical Rescue Unit, one Air Supply Unit, six Arson Investigation Units, and one Rehabilitation Unit. Each engine is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one to two firefighters, while each ladder company is staffed with a driver, an officer, and one firefighter. Minimum staffing per shift is 213 personnel. The Oklahoma City Fire Department responds to over 70,000 emergency calls annually. Transportation Skydance Bridge crossing the newly opened Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma City is an integral point on the , with three major interstate highways — , , and — bisecting the city. Major state expressways through the city include Lake Hefner Parkway , the , Airport Road , and which continues from I-235 connecting Central Oklahoma City to Edmond. Lake Hefner Parkway runs through northwest Oklahoma City, while Airport Road runs through southwest Oklahoma City and leads to. The Kilpatrick Turnpike loops around north and west Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City also has several major national and state highways within its city limits. Shields Boulevard US-77 continues from E. Gaylord Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City and runs south eventually connecting to I-35 near the suburb of. Northwest Expressway Oklahoma State Highway 3 runs from North Classen Boulevard in north-central Oklahoma City to the northwestern suburbs. United Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft at the East Concourse of Will Rogers World Airport Rail and bus has a downtown, with daily service to and the nation's rail network via the. Oklahoma City once was the crossroads of several interstate passenger railroads, but service at that level has long since been discontinued. Freight service is provided by and. Public transit is the city's public transit company. The main transfer terminal is downtown at NW 5th Street and Hudson Avenue. Embark maintains limited coverage of the city's main street grid using a from the main terminal, making many journeys impractical due to the rather small number of bus routes offered and that most trips require a transfer downtown. The city has recognized transit as a major issue for the rapidly growing and urbanizing city and has initiated several studies in recent times to improve upon the existing bus system starting with a plan known as the Fixed Guideway Study. Riders prepare to board the Amtrak Heartland Flyer Though Oklahoma City has no light-rail or commuter rail service, city residents identified improved transit as one of their top priorities and from the fruits of the Fixed Guideway and other studies city leaders strongly desire to incorporate urban rail transit into the region's future transportation plans. The greater Oklahoma City metropolitan transit plan identified from the Fixed Guideway Study includes in the downtown section that would be fed by enhanced city bus service and commuter rail from the suburbs including , , and. There is a significant push for a commuter rail line connecting downtown OKC with the eastern suburbs of , , and. In addition to commuter rail, a short heritage rail line that would run from Bricktown just a few blocks away from the Amtrak station to the in northeast Oklahoma City is under reconstruction. Construction on the Oklahoma City Streetcar has begun and is scheduled to begin service in 2018. This is the first ever grant for Oklahoma City for rail-based initiative and is thought to be somewhat of a turning point by city leaders who have applied for grants only to continuously be denied. In mid February 2018, the Oklahoma City Council began construction on a system in Downtown OKC. Also known as the Maps 3 Street car when finished it will connect the areas of Bricktwon, Midtown and Downtown. The initial system would see two lines that will connect Oklahoma City's Central Business District with the entertainment district, , and the Midtown District. Expansion to other districts surrounding downtown as well as more routes in the CBD is already underway. Walkability A 2013 study by ranked Oklahoma City the forty-third most walkable out of the 50 largest U. Health OU Physicians Center Oklahoma City and the surrounding metropolitan area are home to a number of health care facilities and specialty hospitals. In Oklahoma City's MidTown district near downtown resides the state's oldest and largest single site hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Physicians Medical Center. OU Medicine operates Oklahoma's only level-one trauma center at the OU Medical Center and the state's only level-one trauma center for children at Children's Hospital at OU Medicine, both of which are in the Oklahoma Health Center district. Other medical facilities operated by OU Medicine include OU Physicians and OU Children's Physicians, the OU College of Medicine, the Oklahoma Cancer Center and OU Medical Center Edmond, the latter in the northern suburb of. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center INTEGRIS Health owns several hospitals, including INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, the INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma, and the INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center. INTEGRIS Health operates hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, mental health facilities, independent living centers and home health agencies hroughout much of Oklahoma. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center was named in 's 2012 list of Best Hospitals. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center ranks high-performing in the following categories: Cardiology and Heart Surgery; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Nephrology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology and Urology. The Midwest Regional Medical Center is in the suburb of ; other major hospitals in the city include the Oklahoma Heart Hospital and the Mercy Health Center. There are 347 physicians for every 100,000 people in the city. In the 's annual ranking of the United States' 50 most populous metropolitan areas on the basis of community health, Oklahoma City took last place in 2010, falling five places from its 2009 rank of 45. 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Mid-May 2006 photograph of Oklahoma City taken from the ISS Oklahoma City lies along one of the u corridors into andand is a three-hour drive from the. The City of Ok c City. The population grew following the 2010 Census, with the population estimated to have increased to 643,648 as of July 2017. Westbrook also had to undergo surgery in early March, to si a fracture in the zygomatic arch bone of his right cheek. On July 6, 2017, the Thunder acquired four-time All-Star forward in a trade with the in exchange for guard and forward. In 2014 Oklahoma City again reached the NBA's Western Ok c Finals but eventually lost to the in six custodes. The team's operating situation also continued to improve in 2009—10. The 2009—10 season included several victories over the NBA's elite teams, including a 28-point blowout over the champion and a 16-point blowout of the reigning NBA champion. Retrieved March 16, 2010.