Jersey City, New Jersey influenced the development of the sections of the city and its various neighborhoods. The city is divided into six wards. Downtown Jersey City is the area from the Hudson River westward to the Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) and the New Jersey Palisades; it is also bounded by Hoboken to the north and Liberty State Park to the south. Historic Downtown is an area of mostly low-rise buildings to the west of the waterfront that is highly desirable due to its proximity to local amenities and Manhattan. It includes the neighborhoods of Van Vorst Park
New York–New Jersey Highlands River in Connecticut, encompassing the Reading Prong. In New Jersey, the region's watershed is protected by the state's own Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. In addition to preserving water resources, the act supports open space preservation and the creation of new recreational parks and hiking trails in America's most densely populated state. New York–New Jersey Highlands The New York – New Jersey Highlands is a geological formation composed primarily of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock running from the Delaware River near Musconetcong Mountain, northeast through the Skylands Region of New Jersey along the Bearfort Ridge and the Ramapo Mountains,