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fatelvis wrote in message ...
I found something interesting last week. The group Zero Population
Growth (ZPG) had rated cities as to being Kid Friendly.

Zero Population Growth is a national nonprofit organization working
to slow population growth and achieve a sustainable balance
between the Earth's people and its resources. We seek to protect
the environment and ensure a high quality of life for present and
future generations. ZPG's education and advocacy programs aim to
influence public policies, attitudes, and behavior on national and
global population issues and related concerns.
http://www1.zpg.org/About_ZPG/

This group seems to be very socially aware. They have a
web page on Social Justice and Environmental issues.

Linking Social Justice Concerns with Environmental Issues:
How Communities of Color Have Paved the Way for a Broader Environmental
Movement

by Jessika Fruchter, ZPG Communications Fellow and
by Priscilla Y. Gonz�lez, Principal Researcher

Six-year-old Kayla was excited; her seventh birthday was coming up, and
she asked her mother if they could celebrate in the nearby park. Her
mother's answer was a big disappointment to Kayla as she said, "Honey,
I'm so sorry, but we can't have a party there. That park isn't safe for
you to play in."

"But Mama," answered Kayla, "Where am I supposed to play?"

Take a walk in any poor urban neighborhood, and you'll see for yourself
what Kayla's mother is saying. The broken pavement is littered with
broken glass, trash, and used hypodermic needles. The monkey bars and
swings are broken and rusted. There are no children enjoying these
playgrounds.

http://www.zpg.org/kidfriendlycities/articles/linking.html

I'm sure ZPG is trying as hard as they can to be as politically correct
as they can, but somebody should tell them the facts.


I did some research on the Independent Cities Rankings
http://www.zpg.org/kidfriendlycities/independentranking.html

The Independent Cities category consists of cities with populations
of more than 100,000, which  were neither Major Cities nor
Suburbs/Outer Cities. Because there is no city with a population
of 100,000 or more in Delaware,  Maine, Montana, North Dakota,
Vermont, Wyoming and West Virginia, we included  the largest city
in these states. West Virginia and Wyoming have two cities with
nearly the same population, so we have included both cities. Pueblo,
Colorado's population was added because its population was too near our
cut-off to be excluded. More than 25 million people live in these 112
cities. The average city is about 229,000--a bit larger than Rochester,
NY and smaller than Stockton, CA.

http://www.zpg.org/kidfriendlycities/independentcities.html

I looked at the A category and the F category.
Using http://www.mit.edu:8001/geo I found the
counties of the independent cities. Then using
http://govinfo.library.orst.edu/pe-stateis.html
I obtained 1997 Demographics for these counties
(1996 population statistics were used in the rankings).
I used a calculator  to get the percentages and totals.
Here are my findings:

1.  Fargo, ND A+
Cass County
Total population = 114,708

Total White =    110,331
Percent White =  96.2%

Total Black =  410
Percent Black = 0.4%


2.   Madison, WI A+
Dane county
Total population =  398,412

Total White =   361,625
Percent White =   90.8%

Total Black =  14,208
Percent Black  =  3.6%


3.  Cedar Rapids, IA A+
Linn county
Total population = 182,004

Total White =  172,784
Percent White =  94.9%

Total Black =  4,011
Percent Black =  2.2%


4.  Sioux Falls, SD A
Minnehaha county
Total population = 140,700

Total White =  134,482
Percent White =  95.6%

Total Black = 1,315
Percent Black =  0.9%


5.   Cheyenne, WY A
Laramie county
Total population = 79,060

Total White = 66,573
Percent White = 84.2%

Total Black = 2,346
Percent Black = 3.0%


6.  Green Bay, WI A
Brown county
Total population = 214,719

Total White = 202,892
Percent White = 94.5%

Total Black = 1,106
Percent Black = 0.5%


7.  Lincoln, NE A
Lancaster county
Total population = 234,074

Total White = 213,720
Percent White = 91.3%

Total Black = 5,659
Percent Black = 2.4%


8.  Boise City, ID A
Ada County
Total population = 267,815

Total White = 250,196
Percent White = 93.4%

Total Black = 1,623
Percent Black = 0.6%


9.  Honolulu, HI A-
Honolulu county
Total population = 901,012

Total White = 239,764
Percent White = 26.6%

Total Black = 32,866
Percent Black = 3.6%


10.  Portland ME A-
Cumberland county
Total population = 251,664

Total White =  244,481
Percent White =  97.1%

Total Black = 1,856
Percent Black = 0.7%

11.  Casper, WY A-
Natrona county
Total population = 63,816

Total White = 60,041
Percent White = 94.1%

Total Black =  502
Percent Black =  0.8%

As you can see the range of White percentages is 97.1 - 26.6;
Portland,ME and Honolulu, HI.
Average White percentage = 87.2%


The black percentages range from 3.6 - 0.4; Madison WI /Honolulu HI and
Fargo ND.
Average Black percentage = 1.7%

It says a lot that all the cities on the list that earned an A had a
high white population relative to a low black population.

Now, lets look at the Cities that earned an F.

103.  Dayton, OH F
Montgomery County
Total population = 562,232

Total White = 438,581
Percent White = 78.0%

Total Black = 109,558
Percent Black = 19.5%


104.  New Orleans, LA F
Orleans Parish
Total population = 474,046

Total White =  144,625
Percent White =  30.5%

Total Black =  298,714
Percent Black = 63.0%


105.  Birmingham, AL F
Jefferson County
Total population = 659,234

Total White = 407,956
Percent White = 61.9%

Total Black = 242,653
Percent Black = 36.8%


106.  Memphis, TN F
Shelby County
Total population = 868,484

Total White =  449,319
Percent White = 51.7%

Total Black = 395,240
Percent Black = 45.5%


107.  Macon, GA F
Bibb County
Total population = 156,356

Total White = 81,298
Percent White = 52.0%

Total Black = 72,100
Percent Black = 46.1%


108.  Fresno, CA F
Fresno, County
Total population = 771,128

Total White = 327,432
Percent White = 42.5%

Total Black = 39,090
Percent Black = 5.1%

109.  Flint, MI F
Genesee County
Total population = 436,952

Total White = 328,381
Percent White = 75.2%

Total Black = 90,669
Percent Black = 20.8%

110.  Gary, IN F
Lake County
Total population = 483,227

Total White = 294,493
Percent White = 60.9%

Total Black = 125,979
Percent Black = 26.1%


111.  Hartford, CT F
Hartford County
Total population = 837,102

Total White = 636,159
Percent White = 76.0%

Total Black = 94,667
Percent Black = 11.3%


112.  Newark, NJ F
Essex County
Total population = 772,493

Total White = 301,766
Percent White = 39.1%

Total Black = 321,994
Percent Black = 41.7%

In the F cities, the White population percentage averages are much less
than the national average and the Black population percentage averages
are much greater than the national average.

The range of White population percentages is 78-30.5; Dayton, OH and
New Orleans, LA.
The Average Percent White population is 56.8%

The range of Black population percentages is 63-5.1; New Orleans, LA
and Fresno, CA
The Average Percent Black population is 31.6%

To reiterate:
On the A list:
Average White percentage = 87.2%
Average Black percentage = 1.7%

On the F list:
The Average Percent White population is 56.8%
The Average Percent Black population is 31.6%

It seems apparent that as a White population decreases and a Black
population increases, cities become more Kid UNfriendly!

14 words!

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