The Socio-Economic Status of Cities in Michigan State - Case Study Example

The Socio-economic Status of Cities in Michigan State Michigan State is one of the major states in the United States of America. This State contains, among others the Washtenaw county, the Ann Arbor City and the East Lansing city. Looking into the socioeconomic status of these cities will give the direction in which the state of Michigan and America as a whole is moving in terms of development. Analyzing the data and information of the national census, which is usually contacted after every 10 years will be much helpful (U.S. Department of Commerce, 18)? To get meaningful information, the data of about the last three census need to be scrutinized and analyzed. Washtenaw County is one of the oldest county in Michigan State having been initially founded in 1822 then later organized as a county in 1826. This county has an area of 1870 square kilometer. In this area, 1829 square kilometer is land and 41 square kilometers is water. The population of Washtenaw County, according the 2010 census done by the U.S Census Bureau is about 344791 people. As a county, Washtenaw comprises of places such as MI Metropolitan Statistical Area and Ann Arbor. There are different educational institutions in this county such as Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan, Concordia University Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Washtenaw Community College. This county is surrounded by other different counties, including Livingston County in the North, Wayne County on the East, Monroe County at the southeast, Jackson County at the West, Lenawee County in the Southwest and Ingham County at the Northwest(U.S. Department of Commerce, 35). Ann Arbor is a city found in Washtenaw County. It has a total area of 74.33 square Kilometers. In this, 72.08 square kilometers is land while the remaining 2.25 square kilometers is water. The main water source in this city is Huron River. This city is a home to 113934 people going by the 2010 census. The city was founded in 1824 and its steady rise is attributed to the establishment of the University of Michigan in 1837. This university has shaped and is continuing to shape the economy of Ann Arbor by employing about thirty thousand workers, twelve thousand of them working at the medical center. University of Michigan has also attracted a lot of researchers and companies to conduct their research here thus making it a center of technology. East Lansing is another city in the state of Michigan. This city is located directly east of Lansing which is the capital of Michigan State. This city has an approximate size of 35.20 square kilometers with 0.21 square kilometers of these covered with water. Settlement in this city began in 1847. There has been a tremendous increase in the population of this city. For instance, according to the census done in 2012, the population of the city was 48597 people. This is an increase as compared to the 46420 thousand people counted in the previous census. The East Lansing city lies within Ingham County, though some portion of it is in the Clinton County. Comparison When it comes to housing in Ann Arbor, the recent data from 2000 to 2010, there has been an increase in the number of households. It increased from 45693 in 2000 to 47060 in 2010. However, there had been a decrease in this number of households from 85153 in the 1990 census to 45693 in the 2000 census. The number of vacant housing units also shows some increase from 15225 in 2000 to 2729 in 2010, whereas we had a slightly higher figure of 2353 units in 1990. From this data we can see that there was decrease in the number of households in the 2000s but began rise steadily towards 2010. In the next city, East Lansing it registers a similar trend as Ann Arbor. In 1992 there was a figure if 15687 households which was followed by a drop to 14390 in 2000 and then a slight rise to 14,774. In terms of vacant housing units, however, there has been a steady increase from the 1990s to 2010. It was 903 in 1990 then rose to 931 in 2000 and shot to 1013 in 2010. From this data it shows that the number of households has reduced from the 1990s. Finally, data from Washtenaw County shows a steady increase in the number of households from the 1990s to 2010. In 1990, the total number of households was 111256 as compared to 125327 in 2000, then went up to 137193 in 2010. However, a number of vacant housing units revealed a different kind of trend. It reduced from 6728 to 5742 between 1990 and 2000. It, however, increased to 10380 in 2010. The rise in the household units can be attributed to immigration of various groups of people among them students coming from foreign countries to attend to the higher education programs’ general improvement in infrastructure has also triggered the expansion of housing units. There has been a systematic rise in the enrollment of schools due to the presence of and recent establishment of various learning institutions ranging from kindergarten to universities and colleges. For instance, in Ann Arbor there are 21 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and six high schools. There has also been an upsurge of research spearheaded by the fraternity of the University of Michigan. In East Lansing, the same trait is depicted. There are numerous learning facilities from kindergarten all the way to tertiary institutions. The presence of Michigan State University is a clear indication of the elevated nature of academic resource prevalent in the city. The same picture is portrayed in Washtenaw County since Ann Arbor is the County Seat of this county. Population increase has had a tremendous impact on school enrollment in the respective regions. The establishment more schooling facilities has also played a great role. The economy of Ann Arbor has steadily become stronger from the 1990s due to the Presence University of Michigan, which offers myriad employment opportunities to about 30000 people and about 12000 others in the medical centre. High tech companies have also arisen due to the fact that it is the county seat of Washtenaw County. East Lansing is one of the appealing cities in the U.S. since it is the capital of Michigan State, it attracts a lot of investors. This fact is strengthened by the presence of Michigan State University, a world acclaimed research center, which offers numerous job opportunities to the people of the city. Cashtenaw County is supplied with a good network of roads joining Howell to Detrioit. This line was established in the 1830s and helps in the transportation of goods and commuters within the county. In conclusion, the growth of the three regions: Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Washtenaw county has been contributed mainly by the presence of major institutions of higher education including Michigan state University in East Lansing and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (U.S. Department of Commerce, 47). Moreover the organized nature of housing structures and inventions of technological companies has made these places among the best to live in. This is portrayed in Forbes Magazine’s announcement of 2012 that Ann Arbor is among the best cities to live in in the U.S.A. Work Cited The U.S Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Commerce, 2006. Print. Read More