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March 29, 2001Michigan suburban migration acceleratesCensus figures show state residents are moving out of bigger cities, into the countryBy JOHN FLESHERThe Associated Press TRAVERSE CITY - Michigan's suburban migration accelerated over the last decade, converting villages and farmland into boomtowns at the expense of cities such as Detroit, where the population dipped below 1 million. Flint and Lansing also lost ground while Grand Rapids grew moderately as Michiganians surged farther into the countryside, according to census figures released Wednesday. Livingston County, located between Detroit and Lansing, illustrated the trend, growing 37.5 percent - tops in the state. "The city is OK, but it's too stressful," said Tony Conrad, 30, a loan consultant who recently moved to the county. "I like it to be quiet." But Livingston County also highlights the downside of moving to suburbia - lots of people are doing it, bringing problems of sprawl and crowding with them. "When I first moved here, there were no red lights in Brighton," said Marty Belser, 65, a county commissioner who moved there in the 1940s. Now, he said, it seems to take forever to get through the crush of cars. Also experiencing steady growth were the suburban Detroit counties of Oakland, which grew 10.2 percent since 1990, and Macomb, up 9.9 percent. "You used to drive by and it was all fields; it's all development now," said Kermit King, 50, who moved to Sterling Heights from Oak Park 11 years ago. Many people have unrealistic attitudes, wanting the quiet life of the suburb without sacrificing the amenities of the city, said Kurt Metzger, a demographer at Wayne State University. "The traffic patterns in some of the suburbs are worse than in the urban areas," Metzger said. "They're becoming more and more just an extension of the city." Overall, the state's population grew 6.9 percent during the 1990s to 9,938,444 last year. The moderate growth will cost the state one of its 16 U.S. House seats next year. Detroit's population in 2000 stood at 951,270, down from 1,027,974 in 1990, a 7.5 percent decline. "I'm devastated," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Detroit Democrat who said she believed the city had been undercounted. Flint fell 11.2 percent, from 140,761 to 124,943; Lansing was down 6.4 percent, from 127,321 to 119,128. Grand Rapids, however, grew 4.6 percent, from 189,126 to 197,800. In addition to the Detroit suburbs, another fast-growing area was the southwestern Lower Peninsula. Ottawa County, adjacent to Kent County and Grand Rapids, grew 26.9 percent. Barry County grew 13.4 percent and Ionia County 7.9 percent. Some of the sharpest growth rates were in the northern Lower Peninsula, increasingly popular with retirees as well as younger families seeking to put even more distance between themselves and large cities. Otsego County, home to Gaylord and divided by Interstate 75, shot up 29.8 percent. Other fast-growing northern counties included Grand Traverse (20.8); Antrim (27.1); Benzie (31.1); and Leelanau (27.8). For the first time in 2000, the Census Bureau allowed people to place themselves into multiple racial categories, creating 63 possible combinations. The proportion of Michiganians describing themselves as only white declined slightly, from 83.4 percent in 1990 to 80.2 percent in 2000. Those describing themselves as only black went from 13.9 percent in 1990 to 14.2 percent in 2000. Michigan's Hispanic population rose from 201,596 in 1990, or 2.2 percent of the total, to 323,877 last year, or 3.3 percent. The figures will be used to redraw legislative and congressional districts boundaries. They also will help determine how much federal assistance the state receives for dozens of programs, such as highways, literacy training and nutrition for seniors. Read more about the census: • 13-county region has grown 22 percent since 1990 count • Michigan’s top 10 population gainers, losers (map) • Michigan suburban migration accelerates • Region’s racial characteristics (chart) • Region’s population change (chart) • Cities' losses are townships' gains • Family enjoys life in small town • What's at stake with changing population • Large cities that lost or gained population (chart) • City and village populations (chart) • Quiet life entices familes to 'burbs • Native American numbers on rise • Aging citizens outpace younger generation • Population changes in region by county, city and township (chart) --- On the Net: http://www.census.gov http://www.state.mi.us http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us |
