Lawrence is growing. What are we going to do about it?
The fact that Lawrence and Douglas County are growing isn't surprising news, but U.S. Census figures released this week put some numbers to the trends and perhaps provide some direction for the future.
In the last decade, Douglas County has grown by 22.2 percent from a population of 81,798 in 1990 to 99,962 in 2000. That leaves the Lawrence "metropolitan area" just below the magic 100,000 mark, but makes the county the fifth largest in the state behind Sedgwick, Johnson, Shawnee and Wyandotte.
The population figures released by the census have many implications for Douglas County and for Kansas. The move from rural to urban areas in the state, for instance, is significant. More than half (52 percent) of the state's population now lives in six of its 105 counties (the top five, plus Leavenworth County). The state's population is concentrated in just four metropolitan areas. Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka and Lawrence are home to 56 percent of the state's people.
This shift will affect the state in a number of ways. One of the most immediate impacts will be in the distribution of elected representatives. Johnson County is expected to pick up at least one seat in the Kansas Senate and several in the Kansas House. Lawrence also may gain a House seat. U.S. House districts also will be redrawn and the concentration of population in Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties will make it necessary to trim the area of the 3rd Congressional District.
The influence of the rural areas of western Kansas is likely to decline both in the Kansas Legislature and in Congress. Numbers are dwindling in many western Kansas school districts, and the state will have to consider different ways of meeting educational needs.
We, in Lawrence, have different issues to consider. Our growing population offers many opportunities, but also some challenges. Rather than having a school district that is struggling to survive, we have a district that is struggling to meet the expanding demands of its student population. Instead of worrying about declining property values, we worry about providing enough affordable housing for our residents. Rather than watching retail businesses dwindle, we are concerned about directing development in ways that will benefit the community for the long-term future.
It's exciting, but also a bit disconcerting, especially for people who have watched Lawrence's growth for 20 years or more. Now, more than ever, Lawrence needs to commit itself to thoughtful planning for the city's future. Efforts like the Bert Nash Community Summit, the new Eco2 task force and the World Company's "Lawrence is Growing" project are attempts to build a sense of community that will provide a foundation on which to build a common future.
It's called "building social capital." It's about getting involved, seeking consensus, working for the common good and giving something back to the community. Those are old-fashioned, small-town values that are too easy to lose as a community grows. We don't want Lawrence to lose those values.
Look around. Lawrence is full of "social capital." No city in Kansas has more people who care about it and want it to succeed. Lawrence is growing. No issue is more important to the city at this point in its history than directing that growth to benefit all Lawrence residents now and in the future.
Listening to one another, working together, we can build a future Lawrence can be proud of.
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