Flint

Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 81,252, making it the twelfth largest city in Michigan. The city was founded as a village by fur trader Jacob Smith in 1819 and became a major lumbering area on the historic Saginaw Trail during the 19th century. General Motors (GM) was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for GM's Buick and Chevrolet divisions. In the mid-2000s, Flint became known for its comparatively high crime rates and has repeatedly been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States according to crime statistics. From 2014 to 2019, Flint faced a public health emergency due to lead contamination in parts of the local water supply as well as an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. Flint was also the home of a sit-down strike in 193637 that played a vital role in the formation of the United Auto Workers. For a brief period in 1851, the first Flint Ladies' Library was started in the house of Maria Smith Stockton, daughter of the founder of the community. This library is considered the precursor of the current Flint Public Library, which was founded by William C. Durant in 1904. In 1908, Buick, which became the largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1908, filed incorporation papers in New Jersey, with headquarters in Flint.

History

Flint is the primary city name, but also Grand Blanc are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Flint. Flint was founded in 1819 by Jacob Smith, a fur trader on cordial terms with both the local Ojibwe and the territorial government. In the latter half of the 19th century, Flint became a center of the Michigan lumber industry. As horse-drawn carriages gave way to the automobiles, Flint then naturally grew into a major player in the nascent auto industry. Buick Motor Company, after a rudimentary start in Detroit, soon moved to Flint. AC Spark Plug originated in Flint, followed by several now-defunct automobile marques such as the Dort, Little, Flint, and Mason brands. During the Sit-Down Strike of 1936, the United Automobile Workers triumphed over General Motors, inaugurating the era of successful labor organizing by the UAW. The city was a contributor of tanks and other machines during World War II due to its extensive manufacturing facilities. On June 8, 1953, a large tornado struck the city, killing the first city, SS City of Flint, a freighter named after the first US ship to be captured during the Second World War, the SS Beecher. The first Ladies' Library Association in Michigan was started in Flint in 1851 in the home of Maria Smith Stockton, daughter of the founder of the community. In 1928, the city adopted a new city charter with a council-manager form of government. Mayor William H. McKeighan ran the "Green Slate" of candidates who won in 1931 and 1932 and he was select as mayor in 1931.

Geography

Flint lies in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan. It is located along the Flint River, which flows through Lapeer, Genesee, and Saginaw counties and is 78.3 mi (126.0 km) long. Flint has several neighborhoods grouped around the center of the city on the four cardinal sides. The North Side and 5th Ward are predominantly African American, with such historic districts as Buick City and Civic Park on the north, and Sugar Hill, Floral Park, and Kent and Elm Parks on the south. The South Side in particular was also a center for multi-racial migration from Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Deep South since World War II. Flint lies just to the northeast of the Flint hills. The terrain is low and rolling along the south and east sides, and flatter to the northwest. The monthly daily mean temperature ranges from 23.0 °F (0.5 °C) in January to 70.9 °C in July. The average monthly mean temperature is 9.3 °C (32.6 °F) in July, while dropping to 0.F (18 °C on an average day) in August. Flint is part of the USDA Dfb climate zone 6 of USDA Hardiness. Winters are cold, with moderate snowfall and not rising above freezing on average on average 52 days annually, while drops to 0 °F or below on an annual average of 52 days.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 102,434 people, 40,472 households, and 23,949 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 56.6% African American, 37.4% White, 0.5% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Non-Hispanic Whites were 35.7% of the population in 2010, compared to 70. 1% of Flint's population was born outside the U.S., and over three-quarters of that foreign-born population have become naturalized citizens. In 2016, area community leaders stated that the Hispanic and Latino people made up close to 6% of. the city population, while the city also had 142 Arab-American families. According to the most recent data from the. U.S. Census Bureau, slightly over 1 per cent of Flint’s population was birth outside of the United States. The city is expected to have a population of more than 100,000 by the 2020 census. The 2020 census is scheduled to be held in Flint, Michigan, and will be the largest in the state to date. It is expected that the city will have more than 80,000 people living in it by the end of the year. It will also be the biggest city in Michigan to host the Winter Olympics in 2026. The 2016 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Detroit, Michigan. The games will be held on February 26 and 27, 2016.

Government

The 1974 Charter is the city's current charter that gives the city a strong mayor form of government. A Charter Review Commission is currently impaneled to review the charter for a complete overhaul. Flint has been consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States by multiple sources. The city has operated under at least four charters (1855, 1888, 1929, 1974). The city elected Karen Weaver as its first female mayor in 2015. She was succeeded in 2020 by Sheldon Neeley. In 2006, Flint was the tenth most liberal city in the U.S. according to a nationwide study by the non-partisan Bay Area Center for Voting Research. In 2018, the FBI reported Flint was ranked as America's sixth most violent city among those with a population of 50,000 or more in 2017. Violent crimes were up 23% compared to 2016 according to the report. Most politicians are affiliated with the Democratic party despite the city’s elections being nonpartisan. In 2015, CQ Press (using FBI statistics) ranked the crime index for Flint as seventh-highest in cities with population greater than 75,000. In 2016, the city ranked as the seventh most violent in the country among cities with over 100,000 people. In 2013, Flint ranked in the top five among U.S. cities with a Population of at least 50,00 people. From 2010 to 2012, Flint had the highest violent crime rate among city with aPopulation of more than 100,00.

Sports

Flint is twinned with Hamilton, Ontario, and its amateur athletes compete in the CANUSA Games, held alternatively between the two cities since 1957. Many Flint natives have played basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA), NCAA Division 1 or European professional basketball. The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram II, born and raised in Grand Blanc, attended his final year of high school at Flint Southwestern Academy. The Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers were relocated to Flint after a sale of the team to the owner of Perani Arena for the 201516 season. The team changed its name to the Flint Firebirds. Will Ferrell's 2008 movie Semi-Pro is based on the fictional basketball team the "Flint Tropics". The Flint Fury have been in action since 2003, and are currently a part of the Great Lakes Football League. The Flint Firebird are a member of the American Hockey League, playing in the American Division of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was founded by two of its players; Charles Lawler and Prince Goodson, who both played for the defunct Flint Falcons semi-pro team. Flint has a history of hosting major sporting events, including baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. The city has also hosted the U.S. Open and the World Series of Ice Hockey, which has been held in Flint since 1986 and 1988, respectively. The town has hosted the Winter Olympics and the Winter Paralympics, which were held in 1998 and 2002.

Infrastructure

The city of Flint is served by various bus lines. Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service on the Blue Water line from Chicago to Port Huron at the border to Canada. Canadian National Railway (GTW's successor) and Lake State Railway provide freight service to Flint. Bishop International Airport serves three passenger and two cargo airlines. Dalton Airport, a public use airport near Flushing, also serves small, privately owned planes. Flint once had two other full service hospitals: St. Joseph's Hospital and Flint Osteopathic Hospital. On February 15, 1997, all the former GHS hospitals were consolidated into one hospital at Genesys Regional Medical Center at Health Park in Grand Blanc Township (now owned by Ascension Health) The city's main hub is in Downtown Flint, while the Indian Trails station is co-located at the Flint Amtrak station on Dort Highway, just north of I-69. The Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) provides local bus services. Indian Trails provides inter-city bus service north to Saint Ignace, through Bay City and south to Pontiac, Southfield, and Detroit, and runs services west to Chicago. It is located on Bristol Road between I-75 / US 23 and I-475 in the southwestern part of the city near the General Motors Flint Assembly complex and Bishop International. Airport. Price's Airport in Linden serves the same purpose. In the late 1940s, the Pere Marquette Railway operated daily passenger trains through a separate station 1+14 miles away, with trains heading north to Saginaw and Bay City.

Education

Flint has ten elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The city's original high school, Flint Central High School, was closed in 2009 because of a budget deficit and a lack of maintenance on the building by the Flint School District. The state-run Michigan School for the Deaf is located in Flint. The Flint Public Library holds 454,645 books, 22,355 audio materials, 9,453 video materials, and 2,496 serial subscriptions. Flint has several charter schools, including the Valley School, a small private K12 school. Flint is home to the University of Michigan and the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Flint also has a number of colleges and universities, including Mott Community College, Kettering University, and Baker College. It is the home of the Flint High School for Girls, which was founded in the 1950s and is now part of the Michigan High School For Girls. The school was closed at the start of the 2013-14 school year and was replaced by Flint Northern High School. The high school was converted to an alternative education school and was closed later in 2014. The Catholic high school is Fr. Luke M. Powers Catholic High School which is part of. the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing and serves the entire county. It moved from its location just north of Flint in Mt. Morris Township in 2013 into a $22 million building off of Miller Road in Flint, which received a $24 million renovation. The Valley School is a smallPrivate K 12 school.

Sister cities

Flint has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: Hamilton, Ontario, China, Kielce, Poland and Tolyatti, Samara Oblast, Russia. Flint's sister cities are located in the following countries: China, Russia, Poland, and Ontario, Canada. Flint has a sister city in each of these countries, as well as one in the U.S. and one in Russia. The city also has sister cities in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Spain. The U.N. Sister Cities Association has a Sister Cities program in Flint, Canada, and the City of Flint, Michigan, with sister cities across the globe. Flint is also a member of the Sister Cities of Canada and the United States. The City of Hamilton has a twin city with sister city status in the city of Hamilton, Alberta, Canada; and a sistercity with sistercity status in Hamilton, Quebec, and sister cities with sister City of Toronto, Toronto, and Toronto, Ontario. Flint also has Sister City Sister Cities with Sister Cities in China, Japan, Germany, and Russia. It has sister City Sister cities with Sister cities in Poland, Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. It also Sister City City Sister City with Sister City in Russia, and Sister Cities Sister City With Sister City In Russia, which has sisterCity Sister City status in Russia and Turkey. It is sister City City of the Netherlands with sisterCity of Flint Sister City of St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan = 55.6. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 20. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Flint = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 81,252 individuals with a median age of 40.4 age the population dropped by -5.59% in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,429.78 residents per square mile of area (938.13/km²). There are average 2.33 people per household in the 13,346 households with an average household income of $38,612 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 25.50% of the available work force and has dropped -11.31% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 2.18%. The number of physicians in Flint per 100,000 population = 206.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Flint = 30.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 45.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 133. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 171. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 14.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 51, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan which are owned by the occupant = 62.80%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 39 years with median home cost = $61,580 and home appreciation of -21.72%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $12.85 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,831 per student. There are 22 students for each teacher in the school, 995 students for each Librarian and 698 students for each Counselor. 8.32% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.23% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.00% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).