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Irvine, California
Irvine is an
incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States.
Irvine is a planned city, mainly
developed by the Irvine Company
since the 1960s. Irvine, Formally
incorporated in 1971, the 46-square mile city has a population of
180,803 (as of 2005). Irvine
currently has plans to annex an undeveloped area to the north, and has
already annexed the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, most of
which is to be made into a park called the Orange County Great Park.
Irvine has
been consistently ranked among the safest cities in the U.S. According
to the FBI's 2005 crime statistics, it is currently the safest.
Irvine has
also been acclaimed for its public schools, administered by the
Irvine Unified School District,
attracting young families seeking schools with above average
standardized test scores and other performance distinctions. Residents
living in the western and northern regions of
Irvine are served by the Tustin
Unified School District, which is similarly noted for its outstanding
schools winning national recognition. Irvine
is home to the University of California,
Irvine (UCI), ranked the 10th best public university in the
nation according to the U.S. News and World Report's 2006 annual
rankings, and 40th overall. Irvine
is also home to the Orange County Center of University of Southern
California, Irvine Campus of
Alliant International University, and Concordia University.
Irvine is a
growing hub of the commercial and technology industries. Companies in
the technology sector, including the American division of Toshiba,
Archos, Blizzard Entertainment, and Broadcom call the city of
Irvine home. Other major
corporations have settled into Irvine
as well, such as the offices of automotive giants Ford and Mazda, as
well as fast food chains In-N-Out Burger and Taco Bell, both of which
are headquartered in Irvine. The
city's two biggest employers are UCI and Verizon Wireless.
In recent years, Irvine
has attracted a number of minority groups notably comprised of Chinese
American, Korean American, Indian American and Iranian American
populations. The presence of such diversity has caused the emergence of
various ethnically-influenced small businesses in local
Irvine shopping centers.
The layout of Irvine
was designed by the famous Los Angeles architect William Pereira, and is
divided into townships (called villages) that are self-contained except
for income-generating activities. The townships are separated by
six-lane streets. Each Irvine
township includes a spectrum of similar types of dwellings, along with
shopping, religious institutions and schools.
Irvine commercial districts are
checker-boarded in a periphery around the central townships.
Pereira originally envisioned an Atlantis-like
circular plan with numerous man-made lakes, and the university in the
center. When the Irvine Company
refused to relinquish valuable farmland in the flat central region of
the ranch for this plan, the Irvine
University site was moved to the base of the southern coastal hills.
Pereira associate Raymond Watson then stepped in, drafting the current
design which he based on the shape of a necklace (with the villages
strung along two parallel main streets, which terminate at UCI, the
"pendant"). Traces of the original circular design are visible in the
layout of the UCI Irvine campus
and the two man-made lakes at the center of Woodbridge, one of the
central villages.
All streets in Irvine
have landscaping allowances. Rights-of-way for power lines also serve as
bicycle corridors, parks and greenbelts to tie together ecological
preserves. The greenery in Irvine
is irrigated with reclaimed water.
Many of the Irvine
homeowner's associations are extremely powerful, controlling every facet
of the appearance of one's home, including color, roofing, and
landscaping. Some associations regulate smaller matters, such as what
types of cars people are allowed to park outside their homes.
Irvine Villages
Each of the villages in
Irvine was initially planned to have
its own distinct architectural theme. Many of these
Irvine villages were initially
developed with a distinct theme, but these distinct themes were often
clouded by later developments. They are listed below, from north to
south. Villages currently in development are listed in bold text.
Irvine Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 143,072
people, 51,199 households, and 34,354 families residing in
Irvine. The population density in
Irvine is 1,196.2/km˛ (3,098.0/mi˛).
There are 53,711 housing units in Irvine
at an average density of 449.1/km˛ (1,163.0/mi˛). The racial makeup of
Irvine is 61.06% White, 1.45%
Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 29.83% Asian American,
0.14% Pacific Islander, 2.54% from other races, and 4.82% from two or
more races. 7.37% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 51,199 households in
Irvine out of which 36.0% have
children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% are married couples
living together, 9.8% have a female householder with no husband present,
and 32.9% are non-families. 22.8% of all households are made up of
individuals and 5.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or
older. The average household size in Irvine
is 2.66 and the average family size is 3.17.
In Irvine
the population is spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 14.4% from
18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who are 65
years of age or older. The median in Irvine
age is 33 years. For every 100 females in
Irvine there are 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over in Irvine, there are 90.0
males.
The median income for a household in
Irvine is $72,057, and the median
income for a family in Irvine is
$85,624. Males have a median income of $64,189 versus $41,810 for
females. The per capita income for Irvine
is $32,196. 9.1% of the population and 5.0% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total population of
Irvine, 6.1% of those under the age
of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
In 2000, the median gross rent paid for housing in
Irvine was $1,272 a month. This
was the highest of any place in the United States of more than 100,000
people.
Irvine Education
Most of Irvine
is a part of the Irvine Unified
School District. The four high schools in
Irvine are University High School,
Irvine High School, Northwood High
School, and Woodbridge High School. University High School is recognized
as one of the top California public high schools and house prices are
soaring for homes that are part of this high school zone. Northwood High
was recently included in a nationwide Newsweek list of "Public Elite"
high schools for its exceptional SAT and ACT scores. Parts in the north
and west of Irvine are served by
the Tustin Unified School District.
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