The City of
Charleston
is located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at the juncture
of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Occupying 88.14 square miles, Charleston has 7.6
square miles of a vital, bustling downtown which is home to the City's central business district.
The Peninsula's dense urban streets set in dramatic contrast to the vast expanses of marsh
which lay in buffer around the highlands. Over half of the City's population lives in
West Ashley and James Island which lie just to the west of the Peninsula. West Ashley
and James Island are a mixture of old and new; older neighborhoods with brick homes
and graceful oak trees settle in with newer subdivisions and commercial centers. Johns Island,
more rural in character, combines an intricate network of waterways with fertile farmland, residential property
and limited commercial development. Daniel Island and the Cainhoy Peninsula, which lie east
and north of the Peninsula, are among the most recently annexed areas of the City. The
pristine Daniel Island, a full 4,500 acres in size, is just beginning to reflect the thoughtfully
planned, environmentally sensitive community mapped out in the Daniel Island Master Plan.
It is sure to be the future's complement to Charleston's historic
downtown. 
