The northern lower peninsula of Michigan has experienced a much more rapid population growth than the state as a whole over the past 2 decades. For example, eight of the ten counties in the state that experienced a growth rate of over 15 percent during the 1980s are located in the northern lower peninsula.
Osceola County grew by 27.6 percent between 1970 and 1980 and a relatively modest 6.3 percent between 1980 and 1990. With the extension of US-131 from Big Rapids to Cadillac, Osceola County should receive continued growth pressures and corresponding population increases.
Shifts in investment and disinvestment have been significant indicators of the state of the local economy. Reed City's largest employer, General Mills, has brought investment into the community and the potential for regional employment opportunities. Industrial development has been strong in recent years, and the city stands to benefit from this employment growth as the preferred place of residence of a least some of these employees. To be successful, the city must offer a quality residential environment, available housing, retail and service amenities, recreational opportunities, and a quality school system. The new high school complex will, undoubtedly, provide more than just classrooms to the city.
LAND USE TRENDS
Significant land use changes have not occurred in the city in the last few years. Some higher-density housing has occurred in the southern portion of the city, including an apartment complex, a senior-citizen housing complex, and a nursing home. New industry has occurred in the annexed area to the east.
Commercial development in the downtown has not changed recently, with the exception of the Rite-Aid on the southern fringe of the CBD. Single-family residential areas have not experienced significant land use changes. The most notable, major land use changes strongly affecting the city have been the McDonald's Restaurant at US-10 and Patterson Road in the township and the conversion of the abandoned rail road rights-of-way to nonmotorized recreation trails.
POPULATION TRENDS
Between 1970 and 1990 Osceola County grew by 34 percent, while Reed City has experienced an increase of only 195 persons since 1960. Between 1970 and 1980, the population of the city actually declined by 65 persons.
Table 6 compares the population trends of Reed City and three similarly sized communities located in the region (Evart, Harrison, and Manton). The neighboring City of Evart and the City of Manton have experienced similar growth patterns to Reed City. They have experienced limited growth with some periods of decline. The City of Harrison on the other hand, has experienced steady and consistent growth between 1960 and 1990.
TABLE 6 HERE
POPULATION PROJECTIONS
Three population projection techniques were selected as a growth figure based on historic growth rates for the city and countywide population projections.
The first two techniques are based on the past growth for the city. The arithmetic method assumes that the city will grow with the same number of people per decade as it did between 1960 and 1990. The geometric method assumes that the city will grow at the same rate if growth as it did since 1960.
The third technique is a ration-change projection, which assumes that a certain area (the city) will experience growth similar to a larger area (Osceola County). Population projections for Osceola County were taken from Population Projections for Michigan to the Year 2010 (Michigan Department of Management and Budget, 1985). This technique assumes that the city will continue to capture 10.8 percent of the county's total population (based on 1990 population figures).
Table 7 shows the population projections for the city through the year 2010. An average of the three techniques was used as the population projection for the general development plan. The plan projects a population of 2,650 by the year 2010. This represents a growth rate of 5.7 percent per decade.
TABLE 7 HERE
Provided by the Reed City Downtown Development Authority.
This site is continually being updated, if you have any comments or suggestions, please take a minute to write [email protected].
Return to General Development Plan Table of ContentsBack to Reed City Main Page.
Back to
Main Page.
MultiMag is not affiliated with external sites and is not responsible for their content.
Copyright © MultiMag 1996