(08-27-2009 09:54 AM)Eric Wilson Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that there are now two new organizations that have a primary mission of "revitalizing" Oak Ridge indicates that some people feel they must take on the responsibility. While community involvment is a good thing, this is also a primary responsibility of Oak Ridge leadership. IMO, this has failed to occur over the last two decades. I have spent some time using http://www.bestplaces.net/City/ to compare Oak Ridge demographics with other cities. Take some time to investigate. I would like to hear this group's conclusions.
I took your suggestion and decided to
compare Maryville and Oak Ridge. Using this as a starting point, what do you see?
(08-27-2009 10:13 AM)CrackerNation Wrote: [ -> ] (08-27-2009 09:54 AM)Eric Wilson Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that there are now two new organizations that have a primary mission of "revitalizing" Oak Ridge indicates that some people feel they must take on the responsibility. While community involvment is a good thing, this is also a primary responsibility of Oak Ridge leadership. IMO, this has failed to occur over the last two decades. I have spent some time using http://www.bestplaces.net/City/ to compare Oak Ridge demographics with other cities. Take some time to investigate. I would like to hear this group's conclusions.
I took your suggestion and decided to compare Maryville and Oak Ridge. Using this as a starting point, what do you see?
Maryville is growing faster, younger, whiter, and that is about all. Tell us about the differences in voting records and see what that shows.
(08-27-2009 10:13 AM)CrackerNation Wrote: [ -> ] (08-27-2009 09:54 AM)Eric Wilson Wrote: [ -> ]The fact that there are now two new organizations that have a primary mission of "revitalizing" Oak Ridge indicates that some people feel they must take on the responsibility. While community involvment is a good thing, this is also a primary responsibility of Oak Ridge leadership. IMO, this has failed to occur over the last two decades. I have spent some time using http://www.bestplaces.net/City/ to compare Oak Ridge demographics with other cities. Take some time to investigate. I would like to hear this group's conclusions.
I took your suggestion and decided to compare Maryville and Oak Ridge. Using this as a starting point, what do you see?
Well, the electronic stuff aside and after frequenting both often, I can say that Maryville has more retail options and more industry.
The only stat that stands out is age (about 8 years difference in the average).
You can also check the other topics. Housing is telling.
I did the same thing -- only I took it a step further and called a realtor friend to ask which cities in the area are our biggest competitors for new residents. I pulled all the comparisons, and put them into one spreadsheet for easy analysis. [see attached]
What I see is a more attractive population density for my own tastes; Maryville has about five times our population density, and Farragut about 3x. Granted, a lot of our land area is unpopulated, which skews the results, but it also means that we have a lot of green space around us, which appeals to me greatly.
Of concern is the negative growth... but those numbers are about 9 years old now, so next year's census may show something different. I think it will, especially in the age distribution (supported by increasing school enrollment). Even so, I did note that the median age in all six communities is higher than the national average.
We know we need to attract more young families, and our demographic comparison reflects that. My realtor friend also explained that the reason for including Clinton, Andersonville, and Kingston is the number of people wanting lakefront property. If they're moving from a more expensive area (as many do, when relocating to Oak Ridge), they can afford a bit more house or a more attractive location.
(08-27-2009 11:08 AM)CrackerNation Wrote: [ -> ]You can also check the other topics. Housing is telling.
Good point Cracker. And of course, we excel in the crime rates over Maryville. We have less population density yet we more crime - go figure.
Retail and industry help bring people in or move people out. Bringing people in brings better (or newer if that's what people want) housing.
The population density is fairly meaningless since OR has so much DOE land included. The actual usable density is probably not that much different between Maryville and OR.
Just found where this had been moved. Good choice who ever started it.
I agree population density is irrelevant in this case. Maryville does have a very high unemployment rate. There is no comparison between retail in Maryville and Oak Ridge. It is very evident they have surpassed us. I can not put a finger on why, since they are not on an interstate either. Must be tourism traffic. They do have large tracts available for retail development. We don't.
What I found shocking was a comparison to Farragut. I knew they were more affluent but I did not expect household income to be double ($47,576 vs. $96,621). Another interesting figure is the number of married vs. single. I don't think this is because we have a lot of yet-to-be-married, but probably a lot of widow(ers). Future job growth for Oak Ridge is higher than many other communities, but not Farragut. I am afraid that most of those Oak Ridge jobs will residents living in other communities. Jobs are on the increase, but is OR population? OR population has declined or stagnated since WWII. I attribute this to poor planning by leadership. Except the federal government, what other big box employer (>1000 employees) has ever been attracted to OR? Employment at K-25 was never replaced. Combine that with the Pellissippi Drainway and we are at the core of Oak Ridge's problems today.
Another interesting comparison for Oak Ridge vs. other cities is the average age of homes. Considering Oak Ridge was just born in 1943, our housing is about 15 years older than that of any other community. Much of it was just slapped together due to war time urgency. Did Oak Ridge apply for an energy block grant from DOE-ORO?
Oak Ridge crime rates do seem to be higher in many comparisons to other cities. Combine this with the perception (reality?) that Oak Ridge is contaminated and we do not look very good to outsiders looking for a place to live. We have a very poor track record as a progressive community and instead look like we are stuck in the 1970s. We are in serious need of a "perception makeover". Our identity has been lost, and thus pride is low (IMO).
(08-29-2009 11:27 AM)Eric Wilson Wrote: [ -> ]Just found where this had been moved. Good choice who ever started it.
I agree population density is irrelevant in this case. Maryville does have a very high unemployment rate. There is no comparison between retail in Maryville and Oak Ridge. It is very evident they have surpassed us. I can not put a finger on why, since they are not on an interstate either. Must be tourism traffic. They do have large tracts available for retail development. We don't.
What I found shocking was a comparison to Farragut. I knew they were more affluent but I did not expect household income to be double ($47,576 vs. $96,621). Another interesting figure is the number of married vs. single. I don't think this is because we have a lot of yet-to-be-married, but probably a lot of widow(ers). Future job growth for Oak Ridge is higher than many other communities, but not Farragut. I am afraid that most of those Oak Ridge jobs will residents living in other communities. Jobs are on the increase, but is OR population?
Oak Ridge crime rates do seem to be higher in many comparisons to other cities. Combine this with the perception (reality?) that Oak Ridge is contaminated and we do not look very good to outsiders looking for a place to live. We have a very poor track record as a progressive community and instead look like we are stuck in the 1970s. We are in serious need of a "perception makeover". Our identity has been lost, and thus pride is low (IMO).
You make several valid points. OR is perceived as contaminated and our leaders validate those misperceptions when they are against growth in waste processing and nuclear in general. Nuclear radiation/contamination is one of the most lied about issues that the liberal/environmental wackos use to further their agenda.
Farragut is obviously the destination of choice for affluent folks in this area. They don't subsidize housing for undesirable folks and thus, they don't have as many crime problems like we do. If OR would just stop paying criminals to live here, many of our problems would vanish overnight as they leave for other places.
Maryville officials haven't deliberately stifled growth by killing new development projects. They embrace them although they do require them to be planned and coordinated. They have dealt with misperceptions about contamination from Alcoa for years.
The site also has some data on superfund sites. We do well in that regard versus the averages. That point needs to be emphasized.
In addition to the age of the housing, check out the price of the housing under Cost of Living. This is, in my opinion, the main driver for crime and we need to recycle our properties to get the age curve up to average and the price curve up to average.
I also think it is also important to understand that we do not have a neighborhood which reflects the top salaries in the area. These people are forced to move elsewhere and that the next level down goes with them, and so on...