Dr. Micer
English 201 Section 5
25 March 2009
The Changing Face of Evansville
Every city has a distinct identity that makes it unique from every other city in the world. A city’s identity is defined by a number of things, including its people, different ethnic and cultural groups, history, industry, moral concepts, and the areas and ideas that the people and the city itself value. Location also plays an important role in a city’s identity. For example, the heavily populated and busy city of Miami is obviously very different from a small rural town in Nebraska. The city of Evansville is located in southern Indiana, and is the third largest city in the state (Advameg, Inc). It is the seat of Vanderburgh County, one of the smallest counties in the country. However, being a large city in the Midwest is very different from being a large city on the east or west coast. Without the aid of the ocean and landscapes of the coastal regions, it is more difficult to entice people to move into the Midwest. Evansville is a city with a declining population struggling to turn itself around and once again become a bustling center of commerce using techniques such as creating more jobs by bringing in more businesses, integrating more commercial industries to draw in tourists, and changing from its original German Catholic background into a more culturally diverse city.
The population of the city of Evansville, Indiana had decreased 3.7% between 1990 and 2000 (Advameg, Inc). This is the most recent data, since the next census will not occur until 2010. Though the city is declining now, it was once a new city with increasing opportunity and growing population and industry. It was officially named a city in 1847 with 4000 people. By 1890, more than 50,000 people lived in Evansville. This growth was due to the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal, which caused the population to increase and business to develop in the area. A large immigration of European craftsmen came to work in the city’s factories and businesses, further increasing the city. Evansville’s location on the Ohio River also made it a very profitable and easily accessible trade center (Advameg, Inc). In the recent years, however, Evansville has become a city with a decreasing population struggling to keep people here and bring more people in. A main cause of decreasing population is migration out of Evansville by the young adult population due to the fact that people in Evansville earn less money than most of the United States (Reynolds). In the past several years, Evansville’s economy has slowed considerably. The unemployment rate as of January 2009 was 9.2 percent (Shaw). However, Evansville is doing its part to attract people to move to the city and entice residents to stay. In order to keep people in the area, Evansville has tried to bring in more jobs. An Evansville committee known as the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville entered into an innovative technology transfer agreement that created great potential for business opportunity and opened up more jobs for Evansville residents (“United States: Tech Transfer”). Evansville has also implemented incentive programs such as the Evansville Regional Economic Development Corporation, which works in conjunction with the city’s Chamber of Commerce to help develop Evansville’s economy. Job training programs also offer people the opportunity to become more equipped for jobs within the city. Large employers like Toyota, Whirlpool, and Deaconess and St. Mary’s Hospitals provide thousands of jobs to residents of the city (“Evansville Economy”). Though Evansville’s economy has taken a down turn, it is very clearly trying to provide people with job opportunities in as many ways as possible.
Another way in which to attract people to a city is through tourism. The city of Evansville has a few major attractions. These include the historic warship, the LST 325, Casino Aztar, Roberts Stadium, and Mesker Park Zoo. These have been in the city for quite some time. So how do they use these tourist attractions to draw more people in? The city does this by adding to existing attractions to make them more modern and interesting. In 2004 Evansville decided to consider building a new public arena in hopes that it would keep the younger population from leaving. The estimated cost was around ninety two million dollars. While this may indeed keep people in the city, the cost was just too staggering, and construction plans fell through (“Cities and Stadiums”). More successfully, however, was Mesker Park Zoo’s recent endeavor. In 2008 it opened its new attraction, “Amazonia,” an Amazon rainforest exhibit whose main attraction is a jaguar. It has received praises from the residents of Evansville and has hopefully paved the way for more successful projects like it. The main venue for musicians, comedians, and other public speakers including present and former Presidents of the United States is Roberts Stadium. Each year it houses popular musical acts and speakers that draw in very good crowds, furthering the city’s tourism efforts (Langhorne). This promotes the idea that Evansville is a city that seems to care about the image it portrays to the rest of the world and uses that to try to steady its population to prevent further decline.
In a final effort to keep people in Evansville, the city has implemented programs to improve the weak road system. The city’s main thoroughfare is the Lloyd Expressway. Road crews have been working for the past few years on expanding it. Warning lights have also been implemented throughout the city on Fulton Avenue to warn drivers of traffic blockages on nearby roads (Reynolds). In 2006, the Indiana Department of Transportation awarded the Evansville area one and a half million dollars to improve the crumbling road system (“Indiana Department”). The people of Evansville often see the constant road construction as a nuisance and a hazard. At times, it is somewhat hazardous to drive during heavy construction, but the end goal of the city is clear: to improve the quality of the roads to make them safer and more comfortable in the long run. This is a clear effort on Evansville’s part to improve the life and safety of its residents to encourage people to stay here.
Evansville began as a primarily German Catholic community. It has now grown into a center rich in cultural and religious diversity. Evansville has helped to facilitate this diversity by adopting many religious structures, welcoming all people into the city. The city houses a mosque, which is the Muslim place of worship. This allows people of the Islam faith in the Evansville area to have a place in which to gather for worship, as well as acting as a center for celebration and communication within the Muslim faith community in the city (Hussain). Evansville also caters to the Buddhist faith. The Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha is the religious center for people who practice Buddhism. This allows a place for people of this faith to gather together to discuss the teachings of their religion, and gives them a communal place in which to practice meditation, which is a very important aspect of the Buddhist faith (Orr).
Besides being religiously diverse, Evansville is also ethnically and culturally diverse. In 2008 the city opened its first African American Museum that includes exhibits regarding African American life in Evansville throughout its history (Lesnick). This shows Evansville’s clear position of supporting minority groups and allowing them equal opportunity and recognition throughout the city’s nearly 200 year history. Women have also received equal opportunity and recognition in Evansville. A Network of Evansville Women (ANEW) is an organization for professional women. It connects women who are already well established in business and advises those who want to become professionals how to achieve their goals (Medley). This is a great way Evansville has created for businesswomen to communicate with each other, advance to new heights, and gain equal footing with men in the male dominated corporate world.
To summarize, Evansville is a city with a long and economically winding history. It began as a thriving center of business and trade when it officially became a city in 1847. Through the past several years, however, the population has begun to decline due to a large number of young adults migrating out of the city to pursue better job opportunities. Evansville is a tenacious city, though, and is currently doing its best to prevent further population loss. It is doing this primarily by bringing more businesses into the area, therefore creating more jobs for people, and offering training for specialized jobs to increase opportunity. The city is also working to increase its number of tourists. It is doing so through improving old attractions like the new exhibit at the zoo, and allowing celebrities to appear at the local venue, Roberts Stadium. By working to improve the roads in Evansville, the city hopes to keep more people in the area. This better road system will hopefully improve the comfort and safety of the residents of Evansville and the people who pass through. By incorporating many religious views in the city, it creates an environment that welcomes a diverse group of people. Evansville also cares very much about the success of its minority groups, as displayed by the African American Museum and ANEW, an organization to help businesswomen succeed. Though Evansville is declining in population, it is growing in its efforts to reverse the damage that the decrease has done. Evansville is a persistent city that will do most everything in its power to become the bustling center of commerce and diversity that it once was.
Works Cited
"Cities and Stadiums the Issue: Corpus Christi has Similarities to Evansville. Our View: Quality of Life, Affordability are Key Issues." Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Evansville Courier & Press. 2008. HighBeam Research. 8 Mar. 2009
City-data.com. 2008. Advameg, Inc. 1 March 2009. < http://www.city-data.com/city/Evansville-Indiana.html>.
"Evansville: Economy." Cities of the United States. Thomson Gale. 2006. HighBeam Research. 6 Mar. 2009
Hussain, Mohammad. "Mosque is Becoming as Muhammad First Inteded." Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Evansville Courier & Press. 2007. HighBeam Research. 10 Mar. 2009
"Indiana Department of Transportation Awards $1.5 Million to Fund Improvements in Evansville Area." US Fed News Service, Including US State News. 2006. HighBeam Research. 8 Mar. 2009
Langhorne, Thomas B. "Obama Set for Stadium Rally Tonight Evansville Stop Also Will Feature Michelle Obama, John Mellencamp." Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Evansville Courier & Press. 2008. HighBeam Research. 6 Mar. 2009
Lesnick, Gavin . "Museum Nearly Ready African-American History." Evansville Courier & Press (2007-Current). Evansville Courier & Press. 2007. HighBeam Research. 10 Mar. 2009
Medley, Bill. "Working to Connect Evansville Women." Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville Courier & Press. 2006. HighBeam Research. 10 Mar. 2009
Orr, Susan. "Local Practitioners Find Buddhist Method Brings Proufound Peace and Change to Life." Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville Courier & Press. 2006. HighBeam Research. 10 Mar. 2009
Reynolds, Ryan . "A Growing Dilemma Evansville’s Lagging Economy Makes it Hard to Attract Young Professionals Series: Why Some cities grow and some don't First of a five-day series." Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville Courier & Press. 2003. HighBeam Research. 12 Mar. 2009
Reynolds, Ryan. “Train Warning Lights Activated on Fulton.” Evansville Courier and Press. 27 February 2009. 6 March 2009 < http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/feb/27/no-headline---27a0xtrainlights-brf/>.
Shaw, Dan. “Vanderburgh County Unemployment Rate at 8 Percent.” Evansville Business Journal. (6 March 2009). 10 March 2009.
"United States: Tech Transfer Deal to be Announced in Evansville." TendersInfo. 2008. HighBeam Research. 8 Mar. 2009
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