Livonia

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Livonia, Michigan
—  City  —
Livonia City Hall
Location of Livonia within Michigan
Coordinates: 42°24′4″N 83°22′16″W / 42.40111°N 83.37111°W / 42.40111; -83.37111
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Wayne
Government
- Type	City
- Mayor	Jack Kirksey
Area
- City	35.8 sq mi (92.8 km2)
- Land	35.7 sq mi (92.5 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.30 km2)
Elevation	640 ft (206 m)
Population (2000)
- City	100,545
- Density	2,814.8/sq mi (1,086.8/km2)
- Metro	4,488,335 (Detroit metro)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	48150-48154
Area code(s)	734, 248
FIPS code	26-49000[1]
GNIS feature ID	0630841[2]
Website	http://www.ci.livonia.mi.us/

Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 100,545 at the 2000 census. The municipality is a part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and located approximately 13 miles (21 km) northwest from downtown Detroit, and two miles (3 km) from the western city limits of Detroit (Redford Township lies in between the two).

History

First settled by pioneers from New England and New York, an act by the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan established the borders of Livonia Township on March 17, 1835. The settlers brought with them the name "Livonia", a name that had already been given to Livonia, New York, Livonia, Pennsylvania and a region of the Baltic Sea named Livonia in present day Estonia and Latvia, from which many early settlers came.^[3][4][5]

Livonia was incorporated into a city on May 23, 1950, by vote of the citizens of the township. A significant motivation was to gain tax revenues from the DRC (Detroit Race Course), which was Michigan's only thoroughbred horse racetrack that closed in 1998.

Livonia has been visited by six U.S. presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush.^[6]

Politics

Livonia is located in Michigan's 11th congressional district, and is represented in Congress by Thaddeus McCotter (Republican), who was first elected to Congress in 2002. Livonia's mayor is Jack Kirksey. On November 6, 2007, Livonia's mayoral election took place between Jack Kirksey and Maureen Miller Brosnan, with Kirksey the winner.

Livonia is Michigan's 6th State Senate District, and is represented by Glenn S. Anderson (Democrat), who was elected to the State Legislature in 2006.

Livonia is Michigan's 19th State House District, and is represented by incumbent John R. Walsh (Republican), who is in his first term.

Infrastructure

In addition to its schools, colleges, churches, parks, recreation center, libraries, and St. Mary Mercy Hospital, Livonia also has commercial and industrial sectors, restaurants, and shopping.

Laurel Park Place, a mall with appoximately 70 stores, is located at 6 Mile Road and Newburgh Road. Livonia has a number of shopping centers, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, two Target stores, one Meijer store, and many other smaller stores.

Wonderland Mall was a former mall that opened in 1959 as an outdoor shopping mall on the site of an airport. It was eventually turned into an indoor shopping mall. Wonderland Mall was shuttered in 2003, except for three stores. The mall was demolished in 2006 and the property was redeveloped as Wonderland Village, which features a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Target store, and three islands of retail buildings along Plymouth Road and Middlebelt Road. Another former shopping mall, Livonia Mall, opened in 1964 and was closed in May 2008 with its new owner planning to raze and redevelop the property.

Livonia is home to the Livonia Hockey Association, the largest amateur hockey association in Michigan, and the city also boasts one of the largest soccer progams (Livonia City Soccer Club) in the state, with 1,300 participants.

Education

Eastern Michigan University, Continuing Education Center in Livonia

Livonia is home to various private/public colleges & universities, including Madonna University and Schoolcraft College, a small University of Phoenix campus, and a Continuing Education Center of Eastern Michigan University. The most recent university to open in Livonia is a Davenport University campus, which opened on September 26, 2008.

Most of The City Of Livonia is served by the Livonia Public Schools District, consisting of two Early Childhood Centers, 13 elementary schools, four Upper Elementary Schools, three middle schools, four high schools, and one Career Center. Since the 1960s, the district has consistently been ranked in the top 5 school districts statewide. The district also serves students in portions of Westland, MI. There is, however, a portion of northeast Livonia that is served by the Clarenceville School District.

There are currently five high schools in Livonia, four of which are public: Franklin, Churchill, and Stevenson High Schools in the Livonia district. Bentley High School, the first high school built in the district, was closed in 1985. Clarenceville High School in the Clarenceville Public School District, and one private: Ladywood High School, a Catholic all-girls school run by the Felician Sisters.

Each Livonia Public Schools high school offers a different educational program. Stevenson High School is the home of the school of Global Education, an alternative education model which combines students' English and Social Studies classes with a focus on the student's role in the world. Churchill houses the MSC program, (Math, Science, and Computers) and CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts). Franklin is currently^[when?] in the process of adopting an International Baccalaureate program.

Frost Middle School houses the Middle Alternative Classrooms for the Academically Talented (MACAT) program. The public K-6 Webster Elementary School is home to the Alternative Classes for the Academically Talented (ACAT) program, as well as many afterschool programs. Webster has classess for disabled children as well. The school, however, was burned down by an arsonist, and Webster was moved to a closed-down school, Tyler Elementary.

• Madonna University [1]
• Schoolcraft Community College [2]
• University of Phoenix [3]
• Clarenceville School District [4]
• Livonia Public Schools [5] (LPS also serves parts of Westland.)
• Academy of Westland Charter Schools (In Westland, but serving Livonia) [6]
• Warren Dale Charter Academy (In Detroit, but serving Livonia) [7]
• CAPA, a performance art program at Churchill high school [8]
• MSC (Math, Science, Computers) a program for the academically gifted housed at Churchill High School

There are a number of parochial grade schools attached to Catholic and Lutheran churches around Livonia, including:

• Ladywood High School
• St. Edith, St. Genevieve and St. Michael Catholic grade schools

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.8 square miles (92.8 km²), of which, 35.8 square miles (92.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.33%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 100,545 people, 38,089 households, and 28,071 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,815.0 per square mile (1,086.8/km²). There were 38,658 housing units at an average density of 1,082.3/sq mi (417.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.45% White, 0.95% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population. 16.3% were of Polish, 15.9% German, 11.2% Irish, 8.6% Italian and 8.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 38,089 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% was from 18 to 24, 28.7% was from 25 to 44, 24.3% was from 45 to 64, and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $70,844, and the median income for a family was $83,452.[9] Males had a median income of $54,137 versus $35,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,923. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Major employers

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Festivals

• St. Andrew's Society of Detroit Highland Games at the Greenmead Historic Village. Usually the first Saturday each August.
• Livonia Spree [10] is located in Ford Field at the corner of Farmington Road and Lyndon in the last week each June, and includes Spree Fireworks. The Spree is put on with the help of Pugh Shows.
• Music under the Stars. Held at various locations in Livonia throughout the summer.

Photo gallery

Chapel (1961) of the Felician Sisters in Livonia, Michigan - architectural sculpture by Corrado Parducci.

Saint Mary's Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church.

St. Mary Mercy Hospital

References

Further reading

• Cantor, George (2005). Detroit: An Insiders Guide to Michigan. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472030922. 
• Fisher, Dale (2003). Building Michigan: A Tribute to Michigan's Construction Industry. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1891143247. 
• Fisher, Dale (2005). Southeast Michigan: Horizons of Growth. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1891143255. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Livonia, Michigan

• Official site, City of Livonia.
• Film Livonia, MI Website.
• Livonia Police Department.
• Livonia Public Library.
• Livonia Plymouth Road Development Authority.
• Livonia Chamber of Commmerce.
• Livonia Community Foundation.

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