Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 114,024, which includes about 30,000 students. The city is the county seat of Washtenaw County.
| |||||
| City nicknames: "A-squared," "Tree Town" | |||||
| County | Washtenaw County | ||||
| Mayor | John Hieftje | ||||
| Area - Total - Water |
71.7 km² (27.7 mi²) 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) 2.42% | ||||
| Population - City (2000) - Density |
114,024 1,629.9/km² (4,221.1/mi²) | ||||
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5 | ||||
| ci.ann-arbor.mi.us | |||||
Ann Arbor is best known as the ___location of the main campus of the University of Michigan, which moved there from Detroit in 1837. The city's economy, which once centered on the production of agricultural implements, carriages, furniture, pianos and organs, pottery and flour, is now dominated by education, high tech, and biotechnology, and average home prices and property taxes are well above the state and national medians. Ann Arbor is also well known locally as a destination for dining out and entertainment, as it contains a wide and eclectic variety of restaurants and performance venues.
Ann Arbor is often called A2 ("A two") or A² ("A-squared"), and less commonly Tree Town (or, usually tongue-in-cheek, The People's Republic of Ann Arbor). Recently, some youth have taken to calling Ann Arbor "Ace Deuce" or just, "The Deuce".
History
Main article: History of Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor was founded in January 1824 by John Allen and Elisha Rumsey, both of whom were land speculators. Allen and Rumsey decided to name the settlement "Annarbour," for their spouses, whose names were both Ann, and for the stands of burr oak in the 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land they had purchased for $800 from the federal government. The Native Americans of the region knew the settlement as Kaw-goosh-kaw-nick, after the sound of Allen's grist mill.
Ann Arbor later became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827, and was incorporated as a village in 1833. The town set aside 40 acres (162,000 m²) of undeveloped land and offered it to the State of Michigan as the site of the state capital, but it lost the bid to Lansing in 1836. In 1837 the unused land was sold to the University of Michigan, forever linking Ann Arbor and its history with the university. The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad. Ann Arbor was chartered as a city in 1851.
During World War II, Ford Motor Company's nearby Willow Run plant turned out B-24 Liberator bombers and the population of Ann Arbor exploded with an influx of military personnel, war workers, and their families.
The city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal and left-wing activism over the course of the 1960s and 1970s, becoming a locus for the American civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the 1960s student movement. The first major meetings of the national left-wing campus group Students for a Democratic Society took place in Ann Arbor in 1960, and over the course of the ensuing fifteen years, a plethora of countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed strong constituencies within the city.
These influences washed into municipal politics during the early and mid-1970s when three members of the local, progressive Human Rights Party (HRP) won city-council seats on the strength of the student vote. During their time on council, HRP representatives successfully fought for measures ranging from pioneering anti-discrimination ordinances to measures decriminalizing marijuana possession to a rent-control ordinance -- many of which remain in effect in modified form today.
The economy of Ann Arbor underwent a gradual shift from a manufacturing base to a service and technology base over the course of the 20th century, a shift which accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, the city increasingly found itself grappling with the effects of sharply rising land values and gentrification, as well as urban sprawl stretching far into the outlying countryside. On November 2, 2004, voters approved a greenbelt plan under which the city government would buy up large swaths of land adjacent to Ann Arbor to prevent sprawling development. Since then, a vociferous local debate has hinged on whether, and how, to accommodate and guide development within city limits.
Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 71.7 km² (27.7 mi²). 70.0 km² (27.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.42% water, much of it being part of the Huron River, which also provides hydroelectric power. Ann Arbor is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Detroit, a 45-minute car ride on I-94. Ann Arbor Charter Township is adjacent, on the city's north and east sides.
Ann Arbor is situated on the Huron River, in a productive agricultural and fruit-growing region. The landscape of Ann Arbor consists of rolling hills and valleys, with the terrain becoming steeper near the Huron River, and more level terrain elsewhere. The elevation ranges from about 750 feet (228 m) along the Huron River to about 900 feet (274 m) above sea level in southern and northeastern Ann Arbor.[1] The elevation is about 839 feet (256 m) at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport, which is located at 42°13.38′N 83°44.74′W / 42.22300°N 83.74567°W.
Cityscape
Though much of the city is forested, there are fewer trees downtown, and in several commercial and industrial areas. Such areas include southern Ann Arbor (notably the area surrounding Briarwood Mall), the area surrounding the I-94/M-14 merge in the western part of the city, the southeastern area along Washtenaw Avenue and Carpenter Road, and the northeastern area along Plymouth Road. The rest of Ann Arbor is primarily residential.
Many parks are scattered throughout the city, with several large city parks and a university park bordering sections of the Huron River. The largest parks are Argo Park, Riverside Park, and Gallup Park (near the Huron Parkway). Fuller Recreation Area, near the University Hospital complex, contains sports fields, pedestrian and bike paths, and swimming pools.
There are several high-rise buildings in the downtown district as well as the area near Briarwood Mall in southern Ann Arbor. Downtown also has a mix of modern style buildings as well as 19th and early 20th century structures, as well as a farmers' market in the Kerrytown district. Houses in classic 19th and early 20th-century styles as well as ranch style houses are found throughout the city and near downtown, with comtemporary style houses located further from the downtown district. Neighborhoods around the University of Michigan campus consist of houses and apartment complexes occupied by students.
Climate
Ann Arbor has a temperate seasonal climate, which is influenced by the Great Lakes. The winters are cold with moderate snowfall while summers can be warm and very humid. The area does experience lake effect in the form of increased cloudiness during late fall and early winter.[2] The highest average temperature is in July at 83 °F (28 °C) while the lowest average temperature is in January at 16 °F (−9 °C). However, summer temperatures can top 100 °F (37 °C), and winter temperatures can drop below 0 °F (−17 °C). Average monthly precipitation ranges from 2 to 4 inches (44 to 92 mm), with the heaviest occurring during the summer months. Snowfall, which normally occurs from November to April, ranges from 1 to 10 inches (3 to 25 cm) per month.[3] The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (40.6 °C) on July 24, 1934, while the lowest recorded temperature was −22.0 °F (−30 °C) on January 19, 1994.[4]
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 114,024 people, 45,693 households, and 21,704 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,629.9/km² (4,221.1/mi²). There are 47,218 housing units at an average density of 675.0/km² (1,748.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 74.68% White, 8.83% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 11.90% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.21% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. 3.34% of the population are Hispanic American or Latino of any race.
There are 45,693 households out of which 23.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.8% are married couples living together, 7.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 52.5% are non-families. 35.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.22 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the city the population is spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 26.8% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $46,299, and the median income for a family is $71,293. Males have a median income of $48,880 versus $36,561 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,419. 16.6% of the population and 4.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.3% of those under the age of 18 and 5.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Government and politics
Ann Arbor has a mayor-council form of government. The mayor, who is elected every even-numbered year, is the presiding officer of the City Council and has the power to appoint all Council committee members as well as board and commission members, with the approval of the City Council. The City Council has ten members, two from each of the city's five wards, with the mayor wielding the tie-breaking vote. Council members serve two-year terms, with half the council elected in annual elections. As of 2005, Democrats hold the mayorship and control the council by a 9-1 majority.
Left-wing politics have been particularly strong in municipal government over the past four decades -- an orientation evident in the passage of rent-control and strong anti-discrimination ordinances as well as voter-approved charter amendments that have lessened the penalties for possession of marijuana (1974) and that aim to protect access to abortion in the city should it ever become illegal in the state of Michigan (1990). In 1974, Kathy Kozachenko's victory in an Ann Arbor city-council race made her the country's first openly gay or lesbian candidate to win public office. In 1975, Ann Arbor became the first U.S. city to use instant-runoff voting for a mayoral race. Adopted through a ballot initiative sponsored by the local Human Rights Party, which feared a splintering of the left/liberal vote, the process was repealed in 1976 after use in only one election.
Ann Arbor is located in the 15th Congressional district, and is represented by Representative John Dingell, the longest-serving member of the U.S. House. On the state level, the city is in the 18th district in the Michigan Senate. In the Michigan State House of Representatives, the city of Ann Arbor is in the 53rd district, while northeastern Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Township are in the 52nd district.
As the seat of Washtenaw County, the city is the ___location of the county's trial, civil, and criminal courts. Ann Arbor is also the site of a United States district court, whose downtown building also houses a post office.
Education
The University of Michigan is the dominant institution of higher learning in Ann Arbor, providing the city with a distinctly college-town atmosphere. Much of the campus is adjacent to and intermixed with the city's downtown district. Because the campus and the city expanded side-by-side, there is often no firm divide between the two, with university buildings scattered through much of the city center. Other colleges and universities located in the city are Ave Maria School of Law, Cleary University, Concordia University, and Washtenaw Community College.
The Ann Arbor Public School District -- which enrolls a total of 16,724 students as of 2005 -- consists of twenty-one elementary schools, five middle schools, and four high schools (two traditional, two alternative including Community High). Due to overcrowding problems at the two traditional high schools (Pioneer and Huron), a third major high school is under construction as of fall 2005. The District's superintendent is Dr. George Fornero. Students in the district participate in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) and other standardized tests.
Economy
The University of Michigan plays a major role in shaping Ann Arbor's economy, both through its role as the city's largest employer, and by attracting companies through its graduates and research and development work. Aside from education, high tech, health services and biotechnology are major components of the city's economy, with numerous medical offices, laboratories, and associated companies located within the city. Companies associated with the automobile industry, such as General Motors, Ford, and Visteon, also employ a large number of residents. Nevertheless, the city's economy remains relatively stable due to the major presence of the University of Michigan.
There are a number of high tech companies located in the city. Ann Arbor Terminals, during the 1980s, was the manufacturer of the famous video display terminal, the Ann Arbor Ambassador. Other high-tech companies in the area include Arbortext (provider of XML-based publishing software), Harris&Baseview (provider of newspaper publishing software and ASP services), and ProQuest, which includes UMI.
Websites and online media companies located in the city include All Media Guide, Everything2, and the Weather Underground. Ann Arbor is also the site of the Michigan Information Technology Center (MITC), whose offices also house Internet2 and the Merit Network, a non-profit research and education computer network.
Pfizer operates a large pharmaceutical research facility on the northeast side of town. It was previously operated by Warner-Lambert and before that, Parke-Davis. The city is the home of other research and engineering centers, including those of General Dynamics and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other major research centers include the Environmental Protection Agency's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory and the Toyota Technical Center.
Ann Arbor serves as headquarters to several major companies. The original Borders Books was opened on Ann Arbor's State Street in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders, and began operating other outlets around the region beginning in 1985. The Borders chain is still based in the city, as is its flagship store (although not in its original ___location). A little-known fact is that dogs are allowed inside the flagship store, and the cashiers have a stock of doggy treats for canine visitors. Domino's Pizza's headquarters are in Ann Arbor on Domino's Farms, a massive 271-acre Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired complex outside the city center. Another major pizza company, Cottage Inn, opened in Ann Arbor in 1948 and is still headquartered in the city. Flint Inc., another Ann Arbor-based company, is the world's largest privately held ink manufacturer; it is among the top 220 private companies in the U.S. according to Forbes and one of Michigan's top ten privately held companies.
Many cooperative enterprises were founded in the city during the 1960s and 1970s; among those that survive today are the People's Food Co-op and the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan, a student-housing cooperative. There are also three cohousing communities located just outside the city limits to the west.
Culture
Main article: Culture in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor has a number of cultural attractions and events, many sponsored by the University of Michigan. A number of performing arts groups and facilities are located on the university's campus, as are museums dedicated to art, archaeology, and natural history and sciences.
Near the State Street area are three major theaters: the Michigan Theater, a renovated 1920s movie palace now hosting live performances, independent films, and classic movies, and serving as home base for the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; the State Theater; and the University's Hill Auditorium. In the Main Street area, the Ark hosts folk and acoustic music, while a number of smaller venues and nightclubs serve up jazz and other live music.
Performing arts groups not associated with the university include the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, a nonprofit community theater group; the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet (est. 1954), which was Michigan's first chartered ballet company [5]; the Ann Arbor Ballet Theater; the Arbor Opera Theater; the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra; and Performance Network, which operates a downtown theater offering frequent new or non-traditional plays.
Artrain, located on North Main Street, bills itself as the nation's only traveling art museum on a train. A number of other art galleries exist in the city, notably in the downtown area and around the University of Michigan campus. The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, located in a disused downtown fire station, contains more than 250 interactive exhibits. Among U.S. cities, Ann Arbor ranks first in the number of booksellers and books sold per capita.[6]
Ann Arbor is known for college sports, notably at the University of Michigan, a member of the Big Ten Conference. Several well-known college sports facilities exist in the city, including Michigan Stadium (whose seating capacity rivals the entire population of Ann Arbor), Crisler Arena, and Yost Ice Arena. Concordia University, a member of the NAIA, also fields sports teams.
Events
Several annual events are held in Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor Folk Festival, an annual benefits concert held in late January for the Ark, consists of many of the world's best folk musicians. The Ann Arbor Film Festival is held for six days in March at the Michigan Theater. The Hash Bash, which has been held on the first Saturday of April since 1971, is an event in support of the reform of marijuana laws.
One of the most notorious events is the Naked Mile, where students run naked through the streets in late April to celebrate the end of the winter semester. Beginning in 2000, the University and police began to crack down on the event due to safety concerns.[7] As a result, participants have been forced to adapt, with the event appearing in various forms since.
Many major events occur during the summer months. One event is the Taste of Ann Arbor, a one day event held during the first week of June in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. Also occurring during the summer is the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, a three-and-a-half week event typically held from mid-June through early July at the Power Center and atop the adjacent parking structure, which is host to the free "Top of the Park" events.
The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair is held in the third week of July from Wednesday to Saturday. In late August is the Shopping Cart Race. Though the race is not "official", it is part of Punk Week, a series of events held annually.
Other events held in Ann Arbor include the Blues and Jazz Festival, which is usually held sometime in mid-September at Gallup Park. The Dexter-Ann Arbor Run is a running race from Dexter, Michigan to downtown Ann Arbor along the Huron River.
Media
The Ann Arbor News is the major daily newspaper serving Ann Arbor. Other publications in the city include the Ann Arbor Observer, a magazine with features focusing on various aspects of the city, and the Ann Arbor Paper, a free monthly arts and culture publication.
The three major Ann Arbor–based AM radio stations are WAAM 1600, a news and talk station, WLBY 1290, an Air America Radio affiliate, and WTKA 1050, which is primarily a sports station. The city's FM stations include NPR affiliate WUOM 91.7, country station WWWW 102.9, WQKL 107.1 (adult alternative), and WCBN 88.3, a non-commercial, open-format station.
WPXD channel 31, an affiliate of the i television network, is licensed to the city. Community Television Network (CTN) is a city-provided cable television channel with production facilities open to city residents and non-profit organizations. Detroit area radio and television stations also serve Ann Arbor.
Sister cities
The city of Tübingen in Germany is Ann Arbor's sister city. Other sister cities have included Belize City, Belize; Hikone, Japan; Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Juigalpa, Nicaragua; and Dakar, Senegal.
Infrastructure
Health and medicine
The University of Michigan Hospital is a major medical facility in the city. Part of the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS), which also operates out-patient clinics and facilities, the hospital is ranked as one of the best in the United States. The hospital complex includes University Hospital, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital. A medical center operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs is also located in Ann Arbor. Another major hospital serving the area is Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, located in nearby Ypsilanti.
Transportation
The city is served by three highway-grade roadways: I-94 (which runs along the southern portion of the city), US 23 (which primarily runs along the eastern edge of Ann Arbor), and M-14 (which runs along the northern edge of the city).
The streets in downtown Ann Arbor conform to a grid pattern, though this pattern is less apparent in the surrounding areas. Several major roads branch out from the downtown district like spokes on a wheel to the highways surrounding the city. Some of the major surface arteries lead to the I-94/M-14 juncture in the west, US 23 in the east, and the city's southern areas. Also, a large and expanding network of bike paths crisscrosses the city.
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), branding itself as "The Ride," operates public bus services throughout Ann Arbor and nearby Ypsilanti. A separate free bus service operates within the University of Michigan campuses. Plans have been floated several times to operate a trolley service between downtown and Briarwood Mall along disused rail tracks, although these have not come to fruition as of 2005.
Ann Arbor Municipal Airport is a general aviation facility located south of I-94. Detroit Metropolitan Airport is located about 28 miles (45 km) east of the city, in Romulus. For out-of-town bus service, a downtown bus depot is served by Greyhound Lines, and is the city's only remaining example of the Streamline Moderne architectural style.
The city was a major rail hub from 1878 to 1982, notably for freight traffic between Toledo, Ohio and ports north of Chicago, Illinois, though the Ann Arbor Railroad also sold 1.1 million passenger tickets in 1913 alone.[8] The city was also served by the Michigan Central railroad company. Currently, Amtrak provides passenger rail service from Ann Arbor to Detroit and Chicago, Illinois via the Ann Arbor Train Station; the present-day station neighbors the city's old Michigan Central Depot, an architectural gem that was renovated as a restaurant in 1969. There have been plans to build a commuter rail link between Ann Arbor and Detroit, with the U.S. federal government providing $100 million to enable its development.[9]
Utilities
The city provides water supply and sewage-disposal services, as well as recycling and other waste management services. Electrical power and gas are provided by DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, and MichCon.
SBC Communications, the successor to Michigan Bell and Ameritech, is the primary telephone service provider for the area. Cable service is primarily provided by Comcast.
Notes
- ^ Information obtained from TopoZone.com.
- ^ Ann Arbor. MichiganVacations.com. Accessed August 18, 2005.
- ^ Average High/Low Temperatures for KYIP. Weather Underground (wunderground.com). Accessed August 17, 2005.
- ^ Records and Averages - Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor Weather Forecasts on Yahoo! Weather. Accessed August 31, 2005.
- ^ City Guide - Dance. arborweb.com. Accessed August 18, 2005.
- ^ Ann Arbor Guide 2003-4. Ecurrent.com. Accessed August 17, 2005.
- ^ Naked Mile Data Page. goodspeedupdate.com.
- ^ Michigan's Ann Arbor Railroads - Building the Ann Arbor. Central Michigan University - Clarke Historical Library. Accessed September 1, 2005.
- ^ Mulcahy, John (August 28, 2005)Is commuter rail finally on fast track? Federal grant gets Ann Arbor-Detroit link moving. Ann Arbor News. Accessed September 1, 2005.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public ___domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Encyclopedia of Michigan. (1999). St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers.
- Marwil, Jonathan. (1990). A History of Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Michigan Gazetteer. (1991). Wilmington, DE: American Historical Publications.
- Schmittroth, Linda (Ed.). (1994). Cities of the United States (4th ed.). Detroit: Gale Group.
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