Gainesville

Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020. The city has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation every year since 1982 as a "Tree City, USA" The area is dominated by the University of Florida, which in 2008 was the third-largest university by enrollment in the US, and as of 2021 was the fourth-largest. There is archeological evidence, from about 12,000 years ago, of the presence of Paleo Indians in the Gainville area. A Deptford culture campsite existed in Gainesville and was estimated to have been used between 500 BCE and 100 CE. European contact diminished the numbers of native peoples (through disease, enslavement, war) and Spanish colonists began cattle ranching in the Paynes Prairie area in the 18th century. The Spanish ceded Florida to the US in 1821. The town of Gainesville was incorporated in 1869 and chartered as a city in 1907. The all-time record low of 6 °F (14 °C) was reached on February 13, 1899. The average daily temperature in January is 54.8 °C (8.7 °F) Temperatures are almost always accompanied by clear skies and high pressure systems; therefore snow is rare. Like the rest of the state, the cold temperatures are almostalways accompanied by snow.

History

There is archeological evidence, from about 12,000 years ago, of the presence of Paleo Indians in the Gainesville area. A Deptford culture campsite existed in Gainesville and was estimated to have been used between 500 BCE and 100 CE. The Deptford people moved south into Paynes Prairie and Orange Lake during the first century and evolved into the Cades Pond culture. When Europeans made first contact in the area, the Potano lived in the region. They were descendants of the Alachua culture people. The Spanish ceded Florida to the US in 1821. The town of Gainesville was incorporated in 1869 and chartered as a city in 1907. The University of the State of Florida was moved from Lake City to Gainesville in 1906 and its name was simplified to University of Florida in 1909. The city was established in 1854 and named after Edmund P. Gaines. It was moved to its current location in the early 20th century. It is now the home of the Florida Gators football team and the Florida Institute of Sport. It has a population of about 20,000 people and is home to the Florida Museum of Natural History and Science, which was founded in 1872. It also hosts the Florida International University, which opened its doors in 1875. It's located on the banks of the Kissimmee River, which is a tributary of the Calumet River. The Gainesville River runs through the center of the city and was once the site of a popular fishing lake.

Geography

Gainesville is located at 29°39'55" North, 82°20'10" West (29.665245, 82.336097), which is roughly the same latitude as Houston, Texas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 62.4 square miles (161.6 km²) Gainesville is the only city with more than 10,000 residents in the Gainesville, Florida, metropolitan statistical area (Alaucha, Levy and Gilchrist counties) The city is characterized by its medium size and central location, about two hours' driving time from either Jacksonville or Orlando, three hours from Tampa, and six hours from either Atlanta or Miami. The area is dominated by the University of Florida, which in 2008 was the third-largest university by enrollment in the US, and as of 2021 was the fourth-largest. The city averages 48.31 inches (1,230 mm) of rain per year. June through September accounts for most annual rainfall, while autumn and early winter is the driest period. The all-time record low of 6 °F (14 °C) was reached on February 13, 1899, and the city experienced light snow and freezing rain on Christmas Eve, 1989. In the cool season, Gainesville experiences 15 nights of temperatures at freezing or below and sustained freezes every few years. Like the rest of the state, cold temperatures are almost always accompanied by clear skies and high pressure systems; snow is therefore rare. This is a generally pleasant period, as colorful blooms of azalea and redbud complement a cloudless blue sky.

Demographics

The US Census Bureau estimated Gainesville's population at 141,085 in 2020, a 13.3% increase from 2010 population of 124,504. The population of Gainesville was 13.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race and 52.1% female in 2020. In 2015-2019, the estimated median household income was $37,264 and the per capita Income was $23,018. As of 2019, 82.90% of residents age five and older spoke English at home, while 8.20% spoke Spanish, 1.93% spoke Chinese, 0.96% spoke French, Haitian Creole, or Cajun, 0.78% spoke Vietnamese, 0.55% spoke Russian, Polish, or other Slavic language, and 0.50% spoke Tagalog. At the 2010 census there were 63,612 housing units, with 57,808 occupied and 5,804 vacant. Children under 18 years of age numbered 19,897 in 2020, People 65 years or over were estimated at 14,245 in 2019, or 10.8%. In 2020, 57.5% of the population was White, 20.6% Black, 7.8 % Asian, 3.7% American Indians and Alaska Natives, and 10.0% reporting two or more races. In 2015, 0,61% of resident age five or older spoke Hindi at home. In 2019, 0.,61% spoke Hindi.

Economy

Gainesville is home to the University of Florida. The city's median income is slightly below the U.S. average. Residents, like all Floridians, do not pay state income taxes. Gatorade was invented in Gainesville in the 1960s to help refresh the UF football team. The UF is by far the largest employer in the area and brings in a large amount of state and federal money. According to Gainesville's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: The Florida Department of Citrus's department of economic research is on the Uf campus. Gainesville is also home to dozens of organizations that support startups along their entire continuum of growth. In 2013, Gainesville was ranked at number 5 in the world in solar installed per capita, beating Japan, France, China and all of the US. This increase in solar installations put Gainesville at number 4 in the United States in solar power per capita and number 1 in the European Union in 2013. The FIT allowed small businesses and homeowners to supply electricity into the municipal power grid and paid a premium for the clean, on-site generated solar electricity. UF still receives a share of the profits from the beverage, but Gatorades headquarters are now in Chicago and the company is no longer a UF sponsor. The top employers are: the University. of Florida, the Florida Dept. of. Citrus, and the Florida State College of Law and Criminology.

Education

The Gainesville urban area is served by Alachua County Public Schools. Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. UF contributed $16.9 billion to Florida's economy and was responsible for over 130,000 jobs in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The Gainesville Public Library District provides public library service to Gainesville and to all of Alchua County. The city's schools began desegregating in the 1960s and its high schools were integrated from 1968 to 1970, the "colored" schools having been either closed or integrated. The town has 75 different institutions in the county, most in the Gainesville area, including private schools, colleges, and research schools. It is home to one of the largest high schools in the United States, with more than 1,000 students. It has a population of about 2.5 million people, making it one of Florida's largest cities. It also has one of its largest economies, with over 1.2 million people living in the city and its surrounding areas. The county's economy is estimated to be worth more than $20 billion a year, and Gainesville has a GDP of $1.2 billion. The community has a high school graduation rate of over 80%. The city has a low crime rate, with less than 10% of its residents living in areas with a crime rate of more than 20% or more than 15% in the past three years. The area has a higher than average homicide rate, which is higher than the national average.

Government and infrastructure

The councilmanager government is the form of municipal government used in Gainesville. The day-to-day operations of the city are run by a professional city manager who is appointed by the elected city commission. Law enforcement is provided by Gainesville Police Department, except on the University of Florida campus, which operates the University Police Department. The surrounding county is served by the Alachua County Fire Rescue, which provides ambulance services for the whole county. The city hall is at 200 E University Avenue, and the city manager's office is at 545 NW 8th Avenue. The mayor and two other commissioners are elected at-large, while the other four are elected from single-member districts to represent a quarter of the City. The City commission is responsible for legislative functions such as establishing policy, passing local ordinances, voting appropriations, and developing an overall vision, like a corporate board of directors. Click here to see a list of mayors of Gainesville and their terms of office. The Gainesville City Commission is made up of seven members, one of whom is the mayor, who has a voice and a vote in its proceedings but no veto power. In Gainesville, the mayor is the presiding officer of theCity Commission and has a vote and a voice in the proceedings of the Commission. The commission is elected to a term the length of which is in transition; in any case, neither the mayor nor any other commissioner may serve more than two consecutive terms, excepting following a partial term created by a vacancy.

Transportation

In 2009, the Gainesville metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked seventh highest in the United States in percentage of commuters who biked to work (3.3 percent) The city's streets lie on a grid system, with four quadrants (NW, NE, SW and SE) All streets are numbered, except for a few major thoroughfares, many of which are named for the towns they lead to. At one time, Gainesville had several depots, one of which was the Seaboard Air Line, which was abandoned in 1943. The city is served by US 441 and nearby US 301, which give a direct route to Jacksonville, Ocala, and Orlando. Amtrak service is available at Palatka, 32 miles (51 km) to the south, and at Lakeland (Amtrak station) The Gainesville-Waldo-Gainesville-Tampa line had its end in 1943, and its depots were abandoned in the beginning of the 1950s. The earliest train route reached the town in 1859, and it was the earliest route to be restored and lies in a city park. The town is home to the University of Florida, which is located on the eastern edge of the city. It is also the home of the Florida Panhandle, which lies on the western edge of Gainesville. The state capital is Gainesville, Florida, and is located in the eastern part of the town, on the Florida Turnpike.

Culture

Gainesville is well known for its music scene and has spawned a number of bands and musicians. The city is renowned in recreational drug culture for "Gainville Green", a particularly potent strain of marijuana. In April 2003, Gainesville became known as the "Healthiest Community in America" when it won the only "Gold Well City" award given by the Wellness Councils of America. In the 2008 election, there was a 22% gap in votes in Alachua County between Barack Obama and John McCain, while the other 11 candidates on the ballot and write-in votes received approximately 1.46% of the vote. Gainesville has been home to Theatre Strike Force, the University of Florida's premier improv troupe. The National Coalition for the Homeless cited Gainesville as the 5th meanest city in the United States for its criminalization of homelessness in the Coalition's two most recent reports (in 2004 and 2009), the latter time for its meal limit ordinance. An indoor homeless shelter was built on the site of the former Gainesville Correctional Institution grounds, with surrounding area designated for tents. For two years, the Gainesville nonprofit Harvest of Hope Foundation hosted the Harvest of Florida Hope Fest in St. Augustine. Since 2011 they have distributed nearly 700,000 toys to injured, injured, and homeless children and a showcase for local musicians, churches, and needy families across the area. It is also the location of independent labels No Idea Records and Elestial Sound, and the former home of Plan-It-X Records.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida = 86.8. 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 45. 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 60. 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 Gainesville = 5.7 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 141,085 individuals with a median age of 28.8 age the population grows by 5.55% in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,226.61 residents per square mile of area (859.70/km²). There are average 2.22 people per household in the 39,819 households with an average household income of $33,527 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.50% of the available work force and has dropped -4.87% 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 23.76%. The number of physicians in Gainesville per 100,000 population = 501.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Gainesville = 52.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 113. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 224. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 43.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 28, 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 Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida which are owned by the occupant = 44.27%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 32 years with median home cost = $127,510 and home appreciation of -7.84%. 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 $12.98 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 $4,144 per student. There are 18.2 students for each teacher in the school, 537 students for each Librarian and 420 students for each Counselor. 9.61% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.15% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 22.50% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).