Oak Park is a city in
Oakland CountyOakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was estimated at 1,202,174. The county seat is Pontiac. Oakland County is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, though the actual city of Detroit is located in neighboring Wayne County, south of 8 Mile Road. Oakland County...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is a
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
of
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. As of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, its population was 29,793.
The township around Oak Park began to be settled in 1822, with the area that was to become Oak Park first settled in 1840. The first major housing development came in 1914 and was called the Oak Park subdivision. An election to approve incorporation as a village was held on May 3, 1927.
Oak Park is a city in
Oakland CountyOakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was estimated at 1,202,174. The county seat is Pontiac. Oakland County is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, though the actual city of Detroit is located in neighboring Wayne County, south of 8 Mile Road. Oakland County...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
MichiganMichigan is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is a
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
of
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. As of the
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, its population was 29,793.
History
The township around Oak Park began to be settled in 1822, with the area that was to become Oak Park first settled in 1840. The first major housing development came in 1914 and was called the Oak Park subdivision. An election to approve incorporation as a village was held on May 3, 1927. An election to approve incorporation as a city was held on October 29, 1945.
Planned developments in the late 1950s resulted in Oak Park being named "America's Fastest Growing City" at one point. Major civic improvements in this period included the addition of an outdoor swimming pool and an ice rink in Major Park (now known as Shepherd Park, after former mayor David Shepherd, but long known informally as Oak Park Park).
Oak Park is home to six of the steel and ceramic houses built by the Lustron company in the early 1950s, which provided an inexpensive type of shelter for servicemen returning from World War II. They can be found on Oneida St., just north of Nine Mile Road.
Oak Park grew into a quiet city of one-story houses, sidewalks, trees, and backyards. For many years it has had the feeling of a small town, even though it lies in the heart of the
Metro DetroitThe Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit. As the home of the "Big Three" American automakers , it is the world's traditional automotive center and a key pillar of the U.S...
area, bordering the city of Detroit and several of its larger suburbs.
Oak Park is known for being very clean and quiet. Residents tend to maintain a high level of pride for their homes. The City of Oak Park recently remodeled the downtown area with expensive brick walls, landscaping and decorative sidewalk lights, in addition to a brand new digital marquee sign.
In both 2002 and 2004, the city annexed portions of neighboring
Royal Oak Charter TownshipRoyal Oak Charter Township is a charter township of Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit and is part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 5,446. The nearby city of Royal Oak is legally separate from the township.Until 2004, the...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 5.0 square miles (13.0 km²). None of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 5,932.0 persons per square mile (2,291.5/km²). There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile (874.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.95% White, 45.95% Black, 0.17% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population.
There were 11,104 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $48,697, and the median income for a family was $54,786. Males had a median income of $40,922 versus $35,968 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $21,677. About 7.8% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Attorney Geoffrey Fieger
-Biography and Legal Practice:Geoffrey Fieger is an American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. He is the senior partner in Fieger Law and occasional legal commentator for NBC and MSNBC. His practice focuses on criminal defense, litigation and medical malpractice cases.Fieger grew up in the...
who represented Jack KevorkianJack Kevorkian is a former pathologist. He is most noted for publicly championing a terminal patient's right to die via physician-assisted suicide; he claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end...
grew up in Oak Park and graduated from Oak Park High School in 1969.
- Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University...
, famous economist formerly at Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and currently at Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
is a graduate of Oak Park High School.
- Joseph Bruce
Joseph Frank "Joe" Bruce is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler, and actor.Bruce is most commonly known as Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse. He is the co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow I.C.P. rapper Joseph Utsler and their former manager,...
of the rap group Insane Clown PosseInsane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the wicked clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore and...
.
- Neil Kleid
Neil Kleid is a U.S. cartoonist raised in Oak Park, Michigan, now living in Bronx, New York. He has received a 2003 Xeric Award grant[ at Xeric Foundation] for his graphic novella Ninety Candles ....
, Xeric Award-winning comic book artist
- Ben Forta
Ben Forta is an author and Senior Technical Evangelist for Adobe Systems, particularly ColdFusion and Flex, and the owner of EmTek Systems. He previously worked in a similar capacity for Macromedia and Allaire Corporation, the two previous owners of ColdFusion...
, lecturer and prolific author of over 30 books on computer programming related topics.
Education
Oak Park's educational history began with the Clinton School, a one-room schoolhouse on property donated by Barney Clinton in the early 1900s. As the population grew fast, Clinton School grew and more elementary schools were built.
Clinton School was made a Junior High School and another was built in the mid 1960s, then named for the great poet Robert Frost. At that time, there was only one school in Oak Park with a "special education" department for children with learning disabilities: Lessenger Elementary School on Albany St. at Sunset St. Consequently, many families with such special children gravitated to the neighborhood surrounding Lessenger, creating a "cluster" of such families rarely found elsewhere. Those who grew up around Lessenger School universally report a natural respect for people of all circumstances.
Educational achievement was the long consistent pattern in Oak Park. Over 85% of Oak Park High School graduates continued their education immediately after high school, whether in college, or in trade or vocational schools. The school system was renowned statewide for decades in large part due to the efforts of often wildly progressive and dedicated teachers.
On May 6, 2008, residents voted to extend the bond debt of $24,000,000. This bond will take care of numerous upgrades in the district, such as new technology with computers, wireless access points, and classroom projectors. This will also include redoing all plumbing throughout the entire district with other upgrades as well. "Transition from a good to great school district" is the district's new motto.