Ann Arbor, Michigan
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Featured article Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, of which it is the county seat. It had a population of 123,851 in 2020.
The city is home to the University of Michigan, the oldest university in the state. Its economy is primarily focused on high technology, with numerous startup companies drawn to the area due to the university's robust research and development activities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Founded in 1824 with American settlers from the East Coast, it was incorporated as a city in 1851. The city is located on the Huron River. It is the principal city of its metropolitan area, and it is also included in the Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area as well as the Great Lakes megalopolis.
History
Before founding as Ann Arbor
The region was once inhabited by several Native American tribes, the most prominent being the Anishinaabe people of the Three Fires: the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. The Potawatomi founded two villages in the area of what is now Ann Arbor in about 1774.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Other tribes that inhabited the area included the Mechwaki, Wyandots, and Sauk.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These peoples established several trails that converged on present-day Ann Arbor. The land that included Washtenaw County was ceded to the U.S. by the Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Wyandot in the Treaty of Detroit of 1807.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
19th century
Ann Arbor was founded in 1824 by land speculators John Allen and Elisha Walker Rumsey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On May 25, 1824, the town plat was registered with Wayne County as the Village of Annarbour, the earliest known use of the town's name.<ref>Marwil, p. 1</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Allen and Rumsey decided to name it for their wives, both named Ann, and for the stands of bur oak in the Template:Convert of land they purchased for $800 (Template:InflationTemplate:Inflation/fn) from the federal government at $1.25 per acre.<ref name="Marwil, pp. 1-2">Marwil, pp. 1–2</ref> The local Ojibwa named the settlement Template:Transliteration, after the sound of Allen's sawmill.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Ann Arbor became the seat of Washtenaw County in 1827<ref>Marwil, p. 4</ref> and was incorporated as a village in 1833.<ref>Marwil, p. 7</ref> The Ann Arbor Land Company, a group of speculators, set aside Template:Convert of undeveloped land and offered it to the state of Michigan as the site of the state capitol, but lost the bid to Lansing. In 1837, the property was accepted instead as the site of the University of Michigan.<ref>Marwil, p. 13</ref>
Since the university's establishment in the city in 1837, the histories of the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor have been closely linked.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The town became a regional transportation hub in 1839 with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad, and a north–south railway connecting Ann Arbor to Toledo and other markets to the south was established in 1878.<ref name="Marwil, p. 49">Marwil, p. 49</ref> Throughout the 1840s and the 1850s settlers continued to come to Ann Arbor. While the earlier settlers were primarily of British ancestry, the newer settlers also consisted of Germans, Irish,<ref>Marwil, p. 16</ref> and Black people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1851, Ann Arbor was chartered as a city,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> though the city showed a drop in population during the Depression of 1873.<ref name="Marwil, p. 49"/> It was not until the early 1880s that Ann Arbor again saw robust growth,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with new immigrants from Greece, Italy, Russia, and Poland.<ref name="History-Growth">Template:Cite web</ref>
20th century
Ann Arbor saw increased growth in manufacturing, particularly in milling.<ref name="History-Growth" /> Ann Arbor's Jewish community also grew after the turn of the 20th century, and its first and oldest synagogue, Beth Israel Congregation, was established in 1916.<ref name="history">Template:Citation</ref>
Following a 1956 vote, the city of East Ann Arbor merged with Ann Arbor to encompass the eastern sections of the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1960, Ann Arbor voters approved a $2.3 million bond issue (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn) to build the current city hall, which was designed by architect Alden B. Dow. The City Hall opened in 1963. In 1995, the building was renamed the Guy C. Larcom Jr. Municipal Building in honor of the longtime city administrator who championed the building's construction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During the 1960s and 1970s, the city gained a reputation as an important center for liberal politics. Ann Arbor also became a locus for left-wing activism and anti-Vietnam War movement, as well as the 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; in 1965, the city was home to the first U.S. teach-in against the Vietnam War.<ref>Marwil, p. 153</ref> During the ensuing 15 years, many countercultural and New Left enterprises sprang up and developed large constituencies within the city.<ref name="aadl2006">Template:Cite web</ref> These influences washed into municipal politics during the early and mid-1970s when three members of the Human Rights Party (HRP) won city council seats on the strength of the student vote. During their time on the council, HRP representatives fought for measures including pioneering antidiscrimination ordinances, measures decriminalizing marijuana possession, and a rent-control ordinance.<ref name="HRP">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
Two religious-conservative institutions were created in Ann Arbor; the Word of God (established in 1967), a charismatic inter-denominational movement;<ref name="history" /> and the Thomas More Law Center (established in 1999).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 1998, Ann Arbor is also the home office of the Anthroposophical Society in the United States, an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the inner path of schooling known as anthroposophy, developed by Rudolf Steiner.<ref name="Anthroposophical Society in America">Template:Citation.</ref>
21st century
In the past several decades, Ann Arbor has grappled with the effects of sharply rising land values, gentrification, and urban sprawl stretching into outlying countryside.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On November 4, 2003, voters approved a greenbelt plan under which the city government bought development rights on agricultural parcels of land adjacent to Ann Arbor to preserve them from sprawling development.<ref name="greenbelt">Template:Cite web</ref> Since then, a vociferous local debate has hinged on how and whether to accommodate and guide development within city limits.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ann Arbor consistently ranks in the "top places to live" lists published by various mainstream media outlets every year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2016, the city changed mayoral terms from two years to four.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Until 2017, City Council held annual elections in which half of the seats (one from each ward) were elected to 2-year terms. These elections were staggered, with each ward having one of its seats up for election in odd years and its other seat up for election in even years. Beginning in 2018 the city council has had staggered elections to 4-year terms in even years. This means that half of the members (one from each ward) are elected in presidential election years, while the other half are elected in mid-term election years. To facilitate this change in scheduling, the 2017 election elected members to terms that lasted 3-years.<ref name="a2cc">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2020, partly as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city government opened several downtown streets to pedestrians, limiting their use by motor vehicles to emergency vehicles during summertime weekends. In addition to providing a large pedestrian mall, these changes allow restaurants to use more of the sidewalks and part of the street for outdoor seating.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These changes were popular enough that in 2021 the city council extended the dates from March to November, continuing the schedule of cordoning off cars from Thursday evening until Monday morning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
Ann Arbor is located along the Huron River, which flows southeast through the city on its way to Lake Erie. It is the central core of the Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of the whole of Washtenaw County, but is also a part of the Metro Detroit Combined Statistical Area designated by the U.S. Census Bureau.<ref name=OMB>Template:Cite web</ref> While it borders only Townships, the built-up nature of the sections of Pittsfield and Ypsilanti townships between Ann Arbor and the city of Ypsilanti make the two effectively a single urban area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref>
Landscape
The landscape of Ann Arbor consists of hills and valleys, with the terrain becoming steeper near the Huron River. The elevation ranges from about Template:Convert along the Huron River to Template:Convert on the city's west side, near the intersection of Maple Road and Pauline Blvd.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ann Arbor Municipal Airport, which is south of the city at Template:Coord, has an elevation of Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Arbor is nicknamed "Tree Town", both due to its name and to the dense forestation of its parks and residential areas. The city contains more than 50,000 trees along its streets and an equal number in parks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Into the early 2000s, the emerald ash borer has destroyed many of the city's approximately 10,500 ash trees.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The city contains over 160 municipal parks ranging from small neighborhood green spots to large recreation areas such as Buhr Park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several large city parks and a university park border sections of the Huron River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fuller Recreation Area, near the University Hospital complex, contains sports fields, pedestrian and bike paths, and swimming pools. Opened in the summer of 2014, the city-funded Ann Arbor Skatepark is a Template:Cvt skatepark located within Veterans Memorial Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city is also home to the Washtenaw County-owned County Farm Park. The Nichols Arboretum, owned by the University of Michigan, is a Template:Convert arboretum that contains hundreds of plant and tree species. It is on the city's east side, near the university's Central Campus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Located across the Huron River just beyond the university's North Campus is the university's Matthaei Botanical Gardens, which contains 300 acres of gardens and a large tropical conservatory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several other green spaces around Ann Arbor are privately owned or owned by government agencies such as Ann Arbor Public Schools.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Cityscape
The cityscape of Ann Arbor is heavily influenced by the University of Michigan, with 22% of downtown and 9.4% of the total land owned by the university.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The downtown Central Campus contains some of the oldest extant structures in the city—including the President's House, built in 1840—and separates the South University District from the other three downtown commercial districts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These other three districts, Kerrytown, State Street, and Main Street are contiguous near the northwestern corner of the university.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Major landmarks in downtown Ann Arbor include the Michigan Theater, The Diag, and Tower Plaza, a 26-story condominium building that is the city's tallest building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Downtown is also home to several Fairy Doors and other public art installations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Three commercial areas south of downtown include the areas near I-94 and Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Briarwood Mall, and the South Industrial area. Other commercial areas include the Arborland/Washtenaw Avenue and Packard Road merchants on the east side, the Plymouth Road area in the northeast, and the Westgate/West Stadium areas on the west side.<ref name="city development">Template:Cite web</ref> Downtown contains a mix of 19th- and early-20th-century structures and modern-style buildings, as well as a farmers' market in the Kerrytown district.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city's commercial districts are composed mostly of two- to four-story structures, although downtown and the area near Briarwood Mall contain a small number of high-rise buildings.<ref name="a2gov2009">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ann Arbor's residential neighborhoods contain architectural styles ranging from classic 19th- and early 20th-century designs to ranch-style houses. Among these homes are a number of kit houses built in the early 20th century. Contemporary-style houses are farther from the downtown district.<ref name="city development" /> Surrounding the University of Michigan campus are houses and apartment complexes occupied primarily by student renters. The 19th-century buildings and streetscape of the Old West Side neighborhood have been preserved virtually intact; in 1972, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and it is further protected by city ordinances and a nonprofit preservation group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate
Ann Arbor has a typically Midwestern humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), which is influenced by the Great Lakes. There are four distinct seasons: winters are cold and snowy, with average highs around Template:Convert. Summers are warm to hot and humid, with average highs around Template:Convert and with slightly more precipitation. Spring and autumn are transitional between the two. The area experiences lake effect weather, primarily in the form of increased cloudiness during late fall and early winter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The monthly daily average temperature in July is Template:Convert, while the same figure for January is Template:Convert. Temperatures reach or exceed Template:Convert on 10 days, and drop to or below Template:Convert on 4.6 nights. Precipitation tends to be the heaviest during the summer months, but most frequent during winter. Snowfall, which normally occurs from November to April but occasionally starts in October, averages Template:Convert per season. The lowest recorded temperature was Template:Convert on February 11, 1885, and the highest recorded temperature was Template:Convert on July 24, 1934.<ref name="NOAA">Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographics
Template:Clear Template:US Census population
Ann Arbor has seen consistent growth in population between all decennial censuses since 1860 with the exception of the 2010 census which reported almost no growth from the previous census. As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 123,851 people and 49,337 households residing in the city, with a population density of Template:Convert.<ref name="AAQuickFacts" /> The racial makeup of the city including Hispanics in the racial categories was 67.6% White, 6.8% Black, 0.2% Native American, 15.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 7.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 5.5% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Arbor has a small population of Arab Americans, including students as well as local Lebanese and Palestinians,<ref name="HassounPT21">Template:Citation</ref> and a large community of Japanese nationals.<ref name="Stone">Template:Cite news</ref>
According to the 2022 American Community Survey estimates, out of 49,337 households, 33.8% were married-couple households, 9.8% were cohabiting couple households, 26.1% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 30.4% had a female householder with no spouse present. 18.4% of the households had individuals under the age of 18 living in them, and 20.1% had individuals over age 65 living in them. The average household size was 2.22 people and the average family size was 2.78 people.<ref name="AA_Household">Template:Cite web</ref> The median age was 25.9; 12.2% of the population was under age 18, and 12.3% was age 65 or older.<ref name="AA_S0101">Template:Cite web</ref> The percentage of city residents age 25 years or older with at least a high school degree was 97.8% while 77.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher, which is higher than the U.S. national percentage of 89.1% for persons age 25 years or older with at least a high school degree and 34.3% with a bachelor's degree or higher.<ref name="AAQuickFacts" />
The median household income in 2022 was $78,740 (versus the U.S. national figure of $75,149),<ref name="AAQuickFacts" /> with family households having a median income of $126,292.<ref name="AAEarnings">Template:Cite web</ref> The per capita income for the city was $52,276, which is higher than the U.S. national per capita income of $41,261.<ref name="AAQuickFacts" /> Males working full-time jobs had median earnings of $86,970 compared to $61,543 for females.<ref name="AAEarnings" /> Out of the 109,973 people with a determined poverty status, 23.1% were below the poverty line compared to the U.S. national poverty rate of 11.1%;<ref name="AAQuickFacts" /> the age group with the highest percentage below the poverty level was persons between 18 and 34 years at 43.0% while other age groups have percentages between 2.7% and 7.7%. Further, 3.5% of minors and 7.7% of seniors were below the poverty line.<ref name="AAPoverty">Template:Cite web</ref>
| Historical racial composition | 2020<ref name="IndyStar">Template:Cite web</ref> | 2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1990<ref name=MItab>Template:Citation</ref> | 1970<ref name=MItab/> | 1940<ref name=MItab/> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 67.6% | 73.0% | 82.0% | 91% | 95.5% |
| —Non-Hispanic | 65.9% | 70.4% | 80.4% | - | - |
| Black or African American | 6.8% | 7.7% | 9.0% | 6.7% | 4.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 5.5% | 4.1% | 2.6% | 1.3%Template:Refn | - |
| Asian | 15.7% | 14.4% | 7.7% | 1.5% | 0.3% |
Crime
According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program in 2022, Ann Arbor had 371 reported violent crimes (which include homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and 2069 reported property crimes (which include arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). With a violent crime rate of 309.5 per 100,000 people, the city's violent crime rate is lower than Michigan's rate of 461 per 100,000 people and the U.S. national rate of 380.7 per 100,000 people. However, Ann Arbor's property crime rate, at 1726.0 per 100,000 people, is higher than Michigan's property crime rate of 1536.8 per 100,000 people and lower than the U.S. national property crime rate of 1954.4 per 100,000 people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Refn
Economy
The University of Michigan shapes Ann Arbor's economy significantly. It employs about 30,000 workers which includes about 12,000 in the medical center. Other employers are drawn to the area by the university's research and development money, and by its graduates. High tech, health services and biotechnology are other major components of the city's economy; numerous medical offices, laboratories, and associated companies are located in the city.<ref name="A2_Economy_UM">Template:Cite web</ref> Automobile manufacturers, such as General Motors and Visteon, also employ residents.<ref name = "ulviid">Template:Cite news</ref>
High tech companies have located in the area since the 1930s, when International Radio Corporation introduced the first mass-produced AC/DC radio (the Kadette, in 1931) as well as the first pocket radio (the Kadette Jr., in 1933).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Current firms include Arbor Networks (provider of Internet traffic engineering and security systems), Arbortext (provider of XML-based publishing software), JSTOR (the digital scholarly journal archive), Truven Health Analytics, and ProQuest, which includes UMI.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Duo Security, a cloud-based access security provider of two-factor authentication, is headquartered in Ann Arbor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was formerly a unicorn and continues to be headquartered in Ann Arbor after its acquisition by Cisco Systems.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In November 2021, semiconductor test equipment company KLA Corporation opened a new North American headquarters in Ann Arbor.<ref name=click1>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ann Arbor is the home to Internet2 and the Merit Network, a not-for-profit research and education computer network. Both are located in the South State Commons 2 building on South State Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city is also home to a secondary office of Google's AdWords program—the company's primary revenue stream.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of Ann Arbor is home to more than twenty video game and XR studios of varying sizes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city plays host to a regional chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) which hosts monthly meetups, presentations, and educational events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The city is the home of many research and engineering centers, including the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory that is operated by NOAA and the Michigan Tech Research Institute.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other research centers sited in the city are the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Toyota Technical Center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city is also home to National Sanitation Foundation International (NSF International), the nonprofit non-governmental organization that develops generally accepted standards for a variety of public health related industries and subject areas.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Non-high tech companies in Ann Arbor include Domino's Pizza, headquartered on Domino's Farms, a Template:Convert Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired complex just northeast of the city.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Another Ann Arbor-based company is Zingerman's Delicatessen, which serves sandwiches and has developed businesses under a variety of brand names.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Avfuel, a global supplier of aviation fuels and services, is headquartered in Ann Arbor<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> as is Pinkerton, a detective and private security firm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many cooperative enterprises were founded in the city; among those that remain are the People's Food Co-op and the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan, a student housing cooperative founded in 1937.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are also three cohousing communities—Sunward, Great Oak, and Touchstone—located immediately to the west of the city limits.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Culture
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Several performing arts groups and facilities are on the University of Michigan's campus, as are museums dedicated to art, archaeology, and natural history and sciences. Founded in 1879, the University Musical Society is an independent performing arts organization that presents over 60 events each year, bringing international artists in music, dance, and theater. Since 2001 Shakespeare in the Arb has presented one play by Shakespeare each June, in a large park near downtown.<ref name=blog>Template:Cite web</ref> Regional and local performing arts groups not associated with the university include the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre, the Arbor Opera Theater, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, The Ark,<ref name="AAArt">Template:Cite web</ref> and Performance Network Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> State Theatre and the adjacent Michigan Theater are a movie palace and a performing arts center, respectively.<ref name="AAArt" /> Another unique piece of artistic expression in Ann Arbor is the fairy doors. These small portals are examples of installation art and can be found throughout the downtown area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, an interactive science center, is located in a renovated and expanded historic downtown fire station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ann Arbor Art Center is a nonprofit that organizes art activities and exhibitions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Aside from the Ann Arbor District Library, which maintains four branch outlets in addition to its main downtown building, and being the home to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Arbor ranks first among U.S. cities in the number of booksellers and books sold per capita.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Several annual events—many of them centered on performing and visual arts—draw visitors to Ann Arbor. One such event is the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, a set of four concurrent juried fairs held on downtown streets. Scheduled on Thursday through Sunday of the third week of July, the fairs draw upward of half a million visitors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another is the Ann Arbor Film Festival, held during the third week of March, which receives more than 2,500 submissions annually from more than 40 countries and serves as one of a handful of Academy Award–qualifying festivals in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ann Arbor has a long history of openness to marijuana, given Ann Arbor's decriminalization of cannabis, the large number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city (one dispensary, called People's Co-op, was directly across the street from Michigan Stadium until zoning forced it to move one mile to the west), the large number of pro-marijuana residents, and the annual Hash Bash: an event that is held on the first Saturday of April. Until (at least) the successful passage of Michigan's medical marijuana law, the event had arguably strayed from its initial intent, although for years, a number of attendees have received serious legal responses due to marijuana use on University of Michigan property, which does not fall under the city's progressive and compassionate ticketing program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A person from Ann Arbor is called an "Ann Arborite", and many long-time residents call themselves "townies". The city itself is often called "A²" ("A-squared") or "A2" ("A two") or "AA", "The Deuce" (mainly by Chicagoans), and "Tree Town".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With tongue-in-cheek reference to the city's liberal political leanings, some occasionally refer to Ann Arbor as "The People's Republic of Ann Arbor"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or "25 square miles surrounded by reality."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from Ann Arbor, Garrison Keillor described Ann Arbor as "a city where people discuss socialism, but only in the fanciest restaurants."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ann Arbor sometimes appears on citation indexes as an author, instead of a location, often with the academic degree MI, a misunderstanding of the abbreviation for Michigan.<ref name="pmid18354457">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Sports
Ann Arbor is a major center for college sports, most notably at the University of Michigan. Several well-known college sports facilities exist in the city, including Michigan Stadium, the largest American football stadium and the third-largest stadium of any kind in the world with a capacity of 107,601.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The stadium is colloquially known as "The Big House" due to its status as the largest American football stadium.<ref name="Michigan Stadium">Template:Cite web</ref> Crisler Center and Yost Ice Arena play host to the school's basketball (both men's and women's) and ice hockey teams, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Concordia University, a member of the NAIA, also fields sports teams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In semi-professional sports Ann Arbor is represented in the NPSL by AFC Ann Arbor, a soccer club founded in 2014 who call themselves The Mighty Oak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Government
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As the county seat of Washtenaw County,<ref name="Clark">Template:Cite web</ref> the Washtenaw County Trial Court (22nd Circuit Court) is located in Ann Arbor at the Washtenaw County Courthouse on Main Street. Seven judges serve on the court.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 15th Michigan district court, which serves only the city itself, is located within the Ann Arbor Justice Center, immediately next to city hall. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit are also located in downtown Ann Arbor, at the federal building on Liberty Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In the Michigan Legislature, the city is split between Districts 23, 33, 47, and 48 in the Michigan House of Representatives. In the Michigan Senate, Ann Arbor is covered by Districts 14 and 15.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Arbor is within the 6th congressional district, currently represented by Debbie Dingell.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ann Arbor has a council–manager form of government, with 11 voting members: the mayor and 10 city council members. Each of the city's five wards are represented by two council members, with the mayor elected at-large during midterm years. Half of the council members are elected in midterm years, with the other in general election years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The mayor 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 current mayor of Ann Arbor is Christopher Taylor, a Democrat who was elected as mayor in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Day-to-day city operations are managed by a city administrator chosen by the city council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While Democrats, Template:As of hold the mayorship and all ten council seats,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ann Arbor has two major political factions.<ref name="local-politics-overview-mlive">Template:Cite web</ref> A major source of this local divide is differences in views on the city's growth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Ward | Council member | Party | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lisa Disch | Democrat | 2024–2028 |
| 1 | Cynthia Harrison | Democrat | 2022–2026 |
| 2 | Jon Mallek | Democrat | 2024–2028 |
| 2 | Chris Watson | Democrat | 2022–2026 |
| 3 | Travis Radina | Democrat | 2024–2028 |
| 3 | Ayesha Ghazi Edwin | Democrat | 2022–2026 |
| 4 | Jen Eyer | Democrat | 2024–2028 |
| 4 | Dharma Akmon | Democrat | 2022–2026 |
| 5 | Erica Briggs | Democrat | 2024–2028 |
| 5 | Jenn Cornell | Democrat | 2022–2026 |
Education
Primary and secondary education
Public schools are part of the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) district. AAPS has one of the country's leading music programs. For the 2021–2022 school year, 17,070 students were enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.Template:NCES District ID Notable schools include Pioneer, Huron, Skyline, Community high schools, Pathways to Success Academic Campus, and Ann Arbor Open School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The district has a preschool center with both free and tuition-based programs for preschoolers in the district.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The University High School, a "demonstration school" with teachers drawn from the University of Michigan's education program, was part of the school system from 1924 to 1968.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Ann Arbor is home to several private schools,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> including Clonlara School, Michigan Islamic Academy, and Greenhills School, a prep school. The city is also home to several charter schools such as Central Academy (Michigan) (PreK–12) of the Global Educational Excellence (GEE) charter school company.<ref>"GEE Academies Template:Webarchive." Global Educational Excellence. Retrieved on September 1, 2015.</ref>
Higher education
The University of Michigan dominates the city of Ann Arbor, providing the city with its college town character. University buildings are located in the center of the city and the campus is directly adjacent to the State Street and South University downtown areas.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Other local colleges and universities include Concordia University Ann Arbor, a Lutheran liberal-arts institution. In 2000, the Ave Maria School of Law, a Roman Catholic law school established by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, opened in northeastern Ann Arbor; the school moved to Ave Maria, Florida in 2009,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School acquired the former Ave Maria buildings for use as a branch campus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media
The Ann Arbor News, owned by the Michigan-based Booth Newspapers chain, was the major newspaper serving Ann Arbor and the rest of Washtenaw County. The newspaper ended its 174-year daily print run in 2009 due to economic difficulties, and began producing two printed editions a week under the name AnnArbor.com.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ann Arbor has been said to be the first significant city to lose its only daily paper.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The publication resumed using its former name in 2013, and also produces a daily digital edition named MLive.com.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another Ann Arbor-based publication that has ceased production was the Ann Arbor Paper, a free monthly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ann Arbor Chronicle, an online newspaper, covered local news, including meetings of the library board, county commission, and DDA until September 3, 2014.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Current publications in the city include the Ann Arbor Journal (A2 Journal), a weekly community newspaper;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Ann Arbor Observer, a free monthly local magazine; and Current, a free entertainment-focused alt-weekly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ann Arbor Business Review covers local business in the area. Car and Driver<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> magazine and Automobile Magazine<ref>"Vile Gossip", Jean Jennings, Automobile Magazine, November 2007</ref> are also based in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan is served by many student publications, including the independent Michigan Daily student newspaper, which reports on local, state, and regional issues in addition to campus news.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Four major AM radio stations based in or near Ann Arbor are WAAM 1600, a conservative news and talk station; WLBY 1290, a business news and talk station; WDEO 990, Catholic radio; 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; and adult-alternative station WQKL 107.1. Freeform station WCBN-FM 88.3 is a local community radio/college radio station operated by the students of the University of Michigan featuring noncommercial, eclectic music and public-affairs programming.<ref name="radio">Template:Cite web</ref> The city is also served by public and commercial radio broadcasters in Ypsilanti, the Lansing/Jackson area, Detroit, Windsor, and Toledo.<ref name="AATVR">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ann Arbor is part of the Detroit television market. WPXD channel 31, the owned-and-operated Detroit outlet of the ION Television network, is licensed to the city. Until its sign-off on August 31, 2017, WHTV channel 18, a MyNetworkTV-affiliated station for the Lansing market, was broadcast from a transmitter in Lyndon Township, west of Ann Arbor. Community Television Network (CTN) is a city-provided cable television channel with production facilities open to city residents and nonprofit organizations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Detroit and Toledo-area radio and television stations also serve Ann Arbor, and stations from Lansing and Windsor, Ontario, can be seen in parts of the area.<ref name=AATVR />
Infrastructure
Healthcare
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The University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) includes University Hospital, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital in its core complex. UMHS also operates out-patient clinics and facilities throughout the city. The area's other major medical centers include a large facility operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital in nearby Superior Township.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Utilities
The city provides sewage disposal and water supply services, with water coming from the Huron River and groundwater sources. There are two water-treatment plants, one main and three outlying reservoirs, four pump stations, and two water towers. These facilities serve the city, which is divided into five water districts. The city's water department also operates four dams along the Huron River—Argo, Barton, Geddes, and Superior—of which Barton and Superior provide hydroelectric power.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The city also offers waste management services, with Recycle Ann Arbor handling recycling service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other utilities are provided by private entities. Electrical power and gas are provided by DTE Energy. AT&T Inc. is the primary wired telephone service provider for the area. Cable TV service is primarily provided by Comcast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A plume of the industrial solvent dioxane is migrating under the city from the contaminated Gelman Sciences, Inc. property on the westside of Ann Arbor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of the average measured concentration was found to be 201.19 ppb, with the maximum being 6.000 ppm.Template:Refn While the United States Environmental Protection Agency does not impose a federal limit on the level of the contaminant allowed in drinking water, the World Health Organization suggests a limit of 35 ppb. The Gelman plume is a potential threat to one of the City of Ann Arbor's drinking water sources, the Huron River, which flows through downtown Ann Arbor.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Transportation
The streets in downtown Ann Arbor conform to a grid pattern, though this pattern is less common in the surrounding areas. Major roads branch out from the downtown district to the highways surrounding the city. The city is belted by three freeways: Interstate 94 (I-94), which runs along the southern and western portion of the city; U.S. Highway 23 (US 23), which primarily runs along the eastern edge of Ann Arbor; and M-14, which runs along the northern edge of the city. Other nearby highways include US 12 (Michigan Avenue), M-17 (Washtenaw Avenue), and M-153 (Ford Road). Several of the major surface arteries lead to the I-94/M-14 interchange in the west, US 23 in the east, and the city's southern areas.<ref name="MDOT07">Template:Cite MDOT map</ref> The Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail connects Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, mostly along the Huron River, for pedestrians, bicycles and other non-motorized transportation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), which brands itself as "TheRide", operates public bus services throughout the city and nearby Ypsilanti. The AAATA operates the Blake Transit Center on Fourth Ave. in downtown Ann Arbor, and the Ypsilanti Transit Center. A separate zero-fare bus service operates within and between the University of Michigan campuses. In 2019, 36% of trips in Ann Arbor were taken by walking, biking or transit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Since April 2012, the "AirRide" connects to Detroit Metro Airport a dozen times a day.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Michigan Flyer, a service operated by Indian Trails, cooperates with AAATA for their AirRide and additionally offers bus service to East Lansing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service.<ref name="GL">Template:Cite press release</ref> Megabus has direct service to Chicago, Illinois,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while a bus service is provided by Amtrak Thruway for rail passengers making connections to services in East Lansing and Toledo, Ohio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Amtrak, which provides service to the city at the Ann Arbor Train Station, operates the Wolverine train between Chicago and Pontiac via Detroit. The present-day train station neighbors the city's old Michigan Central Depot, which was renovated as a restaurant in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ann Arbor Railroad passes through the city and provides freight service but no passenger service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ann Arbor Municipal Airport is a small, city-run general aviation airport located just south of the city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sister cities
Ann Arbor has eight sister cities:<ref name="sister cities">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Ann Arbor City Council Minutes (November 6, 2003). Ann Arbor City Government.</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (since 1965) The schools in Ann Arbor and Tübingen have regular exchanges.<ref>The German-American Partnership Program Template:Webarchive, Huron High School, July 26, 2019</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Belize City, Belize (since 1967)
- Template:FlagiconHikone, Shiga, Japan (since 1969) The schools in Ann Arbor and Hikone have regular exchanges.<ref>Cavanagh, Tara. "Videos: Hikone-Ann Arbor exchange provides lessons in culture, lifelong friendships Template:Webarchive." Ann Arbor Public Schools. Date unstated.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Flagicon Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (since 1983)
- Template:Flagicon Juigalpa, Chontales, Nicaragua (since 1986)
- Template:Flagicon Dakar, Senegal (since 1997)
- Template:Flagicon Remedios, Cuba (since 2003)
- Template:Flagicon Lubny, Ukraine (since 2024)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
Notes
References
Works cited
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External links
- City's official website
- Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau
- Collection: "Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan" Template:Webarchive from the University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Materials on Ann Arbor's history from HathiTrust
Template:Adjacent communities Template:Ann Arbor, Michigan Template:Michigan Template:Washtenaw County, Michigan Template:Metro Detroit Template:Great Lakes Megalopolis Template:Michigan county seats Template:Authority control