Greensboro

Greensboro ((listen); formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh. Greensboro is the largest city in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035. Three major interstate highways (Interstate 40, Interstate 85, and Interstate 73) were built to intersect at this city. Among Greensboro's many notable attractions are the Greensboro Science Center, the International Civil Rights Museum, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum. Sports teams in Greensboro include the Greensborough Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic Baseball League, the Carolina Dynamo of the NBA G League, and Greensboro Roller Derby. Annual events include the North Carolina Folk Festival, First Fridays in Downtown Greensboro, Fun Fourth of July Festival, and North Carolina Comedy Festival. From 2015 to 2017 Greensboro hosted the National Folk Festival. The city of Greensboro was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the rebel American forces at the Battle of Guillford Court House on March 15, 1781.:20 Although the Americans lost the battle, Greene's forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British Army of General Cornwallis. After the Revolutionary War, the city became known as "Gate City" due to its role as a transportation hub for the textile industry. In 1808, Greensborough (the spelling before 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square.

History

Greensboro was established near the geographic center of Guilford County, on land that was "an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit" In the early 1840s, the state government designated Greensboro as one of the stops on a new railroad line. Stimulated by rail traffic and improved access to markets, the city grew substantially, soon becoming known as the "Gate City" due to its role as a transportation hub for the Piedmont. Greensboro is still a major center of the textile industry, with the main offices of Elevate Textiles (Cone, Burlington Industries), Galey & Lord, Unifi, and VF Corporation. ITG Brands, maker of Kool, Winston and Salem brand cigarettes and the nation's third-largest tobacco company is headquartered in Greensboro. In the last days of the Civil War's final weeks, Greensboro played a unique role in the government of the Confederate government of Tennessee. In April 1865 Greensboro commanding officer of the Army of the Tennessee commanded the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanding infantry units such as the Grays. The city was relatively untouched by the war, although residents had to deal with regional shortages of clothing, medicine, and other items caused by the US naval blockade of the South. Since the late 20th century, many of the residents of the state were Unionist, and many were not vote for the secession of the mid-19th century.

Geography

Greensboro lies among the rolling hills of North Carolina's Piedmont, midway between the state's Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains to the west and the Atlantic beaches and Outer Banks to the east. The city has an area of 131.8 square miles (341.4 km²), of which 126.5 sq miles (327.7 km²) is land and 5.3sq miles (13.7km²), or 4.01%, is water. Greensboro is 29 miles (46 km) east of Winston-Salem, 54 miles (86 km) west of Durham, 77 miles (177 km) northwest of Raleigh, and 90 miles (144 km) northeast of Charlotte. In March 2015, HondaJet, with a manufacturing facility in Greensboro, announced that it had received provisional type certification (PTC) from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This achievement indicates the FAA's approval of the HondaJet design based on certification testing, design reviews, and analyses completed to date. The Four Seasons Town Centre is a three-story shopping mall with 1,141,000 square feet (106,000 m2) of shopping space. The Koury Convention Center is the largest convention center in the Southeast between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The redevelopment of the downtown was stimulated by the 2006 opening of the Elon University School of Law. The Greensboro Aquatic Center, which hosts national swimming and diving events, is also in this complex.

Demographics

At the 2019 U.S. census estimates, there were 296,710 people living in the city, up from the 2019 American Community Survey's 291,303. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of Greensboro was 47.3% non-Hispanic white, 41.4% black or African American, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 5% Asian alone, 2.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 3.0% multiracial and race made up of the local population. At the 2020 census, 41% of the population was black orAfrican American, 38.6% white, 5.04% Asian, and 0.17% Hispanic/Latino. The largest religion in Greensboro is Christianity, with the most affiliates as of 2017 of 48.33%. The average household size was 2.31, and the average family size was 3.00 in 2019. The median annual income for a household was $41,628, and for a family was $53,150. The city had a median age of 35.1 in 2010. The age distribution in 2010 was 22.7% under 18, 14.5. from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 23.1%. The median earned income for males was $44,974 and $37,937 for females. An estimated 18.5 per cent of residents lived at or below the poverty line in 2019, including 25.9% of those under 18.

Economy

Greensboro's economy and the Piedmont Triad area's have traditionally centered around textiles, tobacco, and furniture. In December 2021, it was announced that Toyota Motor North America, a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Toyota, would operate a $1.3 billion battery plant in Greensboro. Greensboro is a "center of operations" for the insurance company Lincoln Financial Group. City leaders have been working to attract new businesses in the nanotech, high-tech, aviation and transportation/logistics sectors. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University opened a joint research park, Gateway University Research Park. According to the city's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: The city's top industries are: automobile manufacturing, aerospace and defense, construction, manufacturing, food and beverage, retail, health care, finance and insurance, and transportation and logistics. The city is home to the National Football League's Carolina Generals football team and the North Carolina State University women's basketball team. It is also the home of the NCAA's Division I Women's Basketball Team, which won the NCAA championship in 2010. The North Carolina Athletic Association's Division II Women's Lacrosse Team won the national championship in 2008. The N.C. Women's Tennis Association won the women's championship in 2009 and 2010. It was the first time the state had won back-to-back national titles in the men's and women's tennis championships.

Arts

Greensboro is home to an active and diverse arts community. The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro is a performing arts facility that has been a part of downtown Greensboro since 1927. The Greensboro Cultural Center houses more than 25 visual and performing arts organizations. The Mattye Reed Heritage Collection at North Carolina A&T State University houses one of the nation's most acclaimed collections of African culture. The Weatherspoon Art Gallery is an interactive, evolving environment of objects, creatives, and creations in a former thrift store on South Elm Street in Greensboro. The Eastern Music Festival brings more than 100 summer performances, from symphonic works to chamber music to recitals by professional and talented students from around the world. It also hosts the Fringe Festival, showcasing avant-garde and nontraditional music and performances. It is a living museum set inside a former Thrift Store on South Elmer Street, Greensboro, N.C., with more than 3,500 art pieces from more than 30 African nations, New Guinea, Haiti, and the U.S. It was recognized as "One of the 50 Best Theater Companies in America!" by New York's Drama League, "Best Live" in The Rhino Times, and was voted "2003 Professional Theater of the Year" by the North Carolina Conference of the Arts. It's a combination of local and national talent, using a mix of actors, directors, and choreographers to create world-renowned productions.

Sports

Greensboro is home to the headquarters of the Atlantic Coast Conference, despite having no school in the league. The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a minor league baseball team in the High-A East and a farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greensboro Roller Derby was founded in 2010 and has been a member of the WFTDA, Women's Flat Track Derby Association, since 2013. The Wyndham Championship is held at Sedgefield Country Club and is the last PGA Tour event before the Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. In 1974 Greensboro hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four championship game. The city has also hosted the ACC baseball tournament, the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and a number of national competitions at the new Greensboro Aquatic Center. The Charlotte Hornets officially announced that Greensboro would host an affiliate NBA Development League team, beating out other considered cities like Columbia, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Charleston, in October 2015. The Swarm began playing in fall 2016 at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The North Carolina Fusion U23 play in the USL League Two, the nation's top level men's amateur soccer competition. The team plays its home games at Macpherson Stadium in nearby Browns Summit, where it has played since 2003. It is considered the fourth tier of competition, behind the United Soccer League and the PDL. In addition to the ACC basketball tournament and NCAA basketball games, the city has hosted theACC baseball tournament. The PGA tour holds a tournament annually in Greensboro.

Government

Greensboro has a council-manager government with nine members. All seats, including the mayor's, are up for election every four years. Five of the council seats are district representatives and three are citywide representatives elected at-large. Greensboro is the first city in the South to run a participatory budgeting (PB) process, whereby the city's residents decide how a portion of the city budget is spent. The first cycle was for $500,000, ran through April 2016, and was incorporated into the 201617 budget, with projects like murals, bridge improvements, and a citywide bus tracking app voted on by residents. As of July 2022, Nancy B. Vaughan is the mayor of Greensboro. The city has a population of 2.1 million. The mayor's salary is $100,000 a year, and the council's salaries are $50,000 and $60,000. The council's budget is $1.2 million, and it has a cap of $2 million for spending on city services. The budget for 2016-17 is $2.5 million, with $1 million to be spent on public safety projects and $3 million on infrastructure projects. It also has a budget for 2017-18 that is $3.6 million, which includes $1million for a new city-wide transit system. The 2016-18 budget includes a $200,000 increase in the citywide transit budget to cover the cost of a new transit system that will be built in 2018.

Education

Greensboro's public schools are operated by Guilford County Schools, the state's third-largest school system, with about 71,000 students. Greensboro has one of the oldest public high schools in the state, Grimsley High School, established in 1899 as Greensboro High School. The city is home to many private day schools, including Greensboro Day School, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, New Garden Friends School, and Caldwell Academy. The state-operated Central North Carolina School for the Deaf was formerly in Greensboro. The area has two boarding schools: the American Hebrew Academy and the Oak Ridge Military Academy, in nearby Oak Ridge. The early college, The Early College at Guillford, is ranked by U.S. News & World Report in 2021 as North Carolina's best public school and the #2 STEM school in the country. The Greater Greensboro Consortium was established to allow college students enrolled in one Greensboro-area institution to cross-register at other institutions in the same area. Students are also allowed to join certain student organizations at other institution in the consortium not present at their home institution. The Greensboro area has many major institutions of higher education, including Bennett College, Greensboro College, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as many smaller colleges. The town is also home to the North Carolina State University campus, which is located between Greensboro and High Point. It also has a number of high schools and junior colleges.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina = 32.3. 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 75. 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 98. 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 Greensboro = 4.4 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 299,035 individuals with a median age of 35.8 age the population grows by 9.83% in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,275.59 residents per square mile of area (878.61/km²). There are average 2.28 people per household in the 102,712 households with an average household income of $42,509 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.50% of the available work force and has dropped -7.52% 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 14.46%. The number of physicians in Greensboro per 100,000 population = 245.1.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Greensboro = 43.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 8.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 96. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 217. 88 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 27.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 37, 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 Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina which are owned by the occupant = 47.96%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 29 years with median home cost = $116,030 and home appreciation of -1.55%. 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 $8.66 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 $4,584 per student. There are 15.7 students for each teacher in the school, 458 students for each Librarian and 359 students for each Counselor. 5.88% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 23.37% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 10.78% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).