Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area | |
|---|---|
 DowntownChampaign, Illinois | |
| Nicknames: C-U, Chambana | |
 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Illinois |
| Largest city | Champaign |
| Other cities | Urbana Rantoul Danville |
| Population (2023) | |
| • MSA | 235,608 |
| • CSA | 307,260 |
| GDP | |
| • Total | $14.328 billion (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
TheChampaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known asChampaign–Urbana andUrbana–Champaign as well asChambana (colloquially), is ametropolitan area in east-centralIllinois. As defined by theOffice of Management and Budget (OMB), the metropolitan area has a population of 235,608 as of the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, which ranks it as the 201st largestmetropolitan statistical area in the U.S. The area is anchored by the principal cities ofChampaign andUrbana, and is home to theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the flagship campus of theUniversity of Illinois system.
As of July 2023,[update] the OMB defines the metropolitan area (officially designated theChampaign–Urbana, IL MSA) to consist ofChampaign County,Piatt County, andFord County.[2] From 2018 to 2023,Ford County was not considered a part of the metropolitan area.[3][4]The MSA is part of the largerChampaign–Urbana–Danville Combined Statistical Area, which also includes theDanville micropolitan area, and has a population of 307,260 as of the 2023 estimate.
Journalists frequently treat the metropolitan area as just one city. For example, in 1998,Newsweek included the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area in its list of the top ten tech cities outside ofSilicon Valley.[5] Champaign–Urbana also ranked as tenth out of the top twenty-fivegreen cities in the United States, in a 2007 survey made byCountry Home magazine.[6]
A number of major developments have significantly changed downtownChampaign since the beginning of the 21st century. Beginning in the 1990s, city government began to aggressively court development, including by investing millions of dollars in public funds into downtown improvements and by offering developers incentives, such as liquor licenses, to pursue projects in the area.[7] The 9-story M2 on Neil project is such an example. The project began in 2007[8] by taking down the facade of the deteriorated Trevett-Mattis Banking Co. which previously occupied the building site.[9] The facade was retained on the M2 building. Residents first began to lease space in the M2 in the winter of 2009.[10] The M2 includes not just condos for residential occupation, but also retail and office space in its lower floors, a common trend in new developments in the urban core. Across the street, a 9-story Hyatt Place boutique hotel opened in the summer of 2014.[11] In the Campustown area adjoining theUniversity of Illinois, the new 24-storyhighriseapartment building309 Green was ostensibly completed in the fall of 2007[12] but had partial occupancy at least through the fall of 2008.[13] It is 256 feet (78 m) tall, making it a full 3 stories higher than the older 21-story Tower at Third, the first contribution to the Urbana–Champaign skyline.[14] TheBurnham 310 Project, at 18 stories, which is also taller (in overall height), was finished in the fall of 2008 and includes student luxuryapartments and aCounty Market grocery store. Burnham 310 connects downtownChampaign toCampustown. In 2013–14, four other mixed-use buildings (apartments above commercial) have been built in Campustown, with heights of 26, 13, 8, and 5 stories. On theUniversity of Illinois campus,Memorial Stadium has gone under major renovation, with construction of new stands, clubs, and luxury suites. Across Kirby Avenue, the Assembly Hall, first built in 1963 and renamed theState Farm Center as part of a major renovation begun in 2014, continues to be the home of Illinois basketball and has resumed hosting concerts and other performing arts after renovation was completed in late 2016. In the late 2000s, the restoration of the Champaign County Courthouse bell tower capped the expansion and renovation of Courthouse facilities and provided a striking focal point in downtownUrbana. These, among other developments, have given the Twin Cities a more urban feel.
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The outlying parts of the metropolitan area differ from the suburban areas of many other metropolitan areas. Instead of a sprawling suburban skirt that encircles the urban area, the urban area abuts large swaths of farmland, with small to medium-sized villages that originated as farming communities. But, as the willingness of professionals to commute longer distances has increased in recent decades, new residential developments have arisen on their edges, dotting the surrounding landscape. Some of these villages are home to as many as 5,000 residents or more, but most are significantly smaller.
Most of these outlying communities, such asSavoy,Mahomet,St. Joseph,Tolono, and arguablyRantoul andMonticello as well, are dependent on Champaign and Urbana for economic and infrastructure support. Predominantly, these cities and villages lie inChampaign County. These areas are populated to a substantial extent with commuters who work inChampaign orUrbana, but reside outside the two cities. Because higher paid professors, doctors and technology professionals who work for theUniversity of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, the many clinics and hospitals in town, or in the Research Park, are more likely to maintain cars for commuting longer distances and to afford owner-occupied single-family housing, these areas lacking in mass transit and high-density rental projects often have a higher median household income thanChampaign orUrbana.
In addition to residential developments in the surrounding, formerly agricultural communities, residential neighborhoods are also growing up in unincorporated areas within a short radius of the city limits, while the cities themselves are also expanding to annex areas of new development. While the annexed areas benefit from municipal services, developments that are willing to forego city sewer systems, libraries and police protection can enjoy the lower tax rates the surrounding townships levy, as fewer services are provided. Areas currently under construction extend as far as around Rising Road west ofI-57 and north and east ofWillard Airport. Some of this land is inChampaign Township, while some has been annexed to eitherChampaign orSavoy. Additionalland development is occurring north ofI-74 in land annexed by bothChampaign andUrbana. On the eastern side of the city ofUrbana, new business developments such as aMeijer, a plannedMenards, and a commercial center with many restaurants and services have broken ground, as well as more suburban housing.
The issue of land development is often hotly contested by local governments. In addition to arguments for and against development, the question of potential annexations, which remove property tax revenues from the surrounding townships while increasing the urban tax base (but also the demands on urban services) is a point of constant strife between the cities and the surrounding townships. On the other hand, the availability of higher-valued housing in areas belonging to the townships or surrounding villages, which is paid for by workers earning their money within the urban infrastructure also represents a movement of potential tax dollars fromChampaign andUrbana to their dependent areas.
| CBSA[2] | 2023 Population (est.) | County | 2023 Population (est.) | 2020 Population | 2010 Population | 2000 Population | 1950 Population | 1900 Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champaign-Urbana, IL MSA | 235,608 | Champaign County, Illinois | 205,644 | 205,865 | 201,081 | 179,669 | 106,100 | 47,622 |
| Piatt County, Illinois | 16,714 | 16,673 | 16,729 | 16,365 | 13,970 | 17,706 | ||
| Ford County, Illinois | 13,250 | 13,534 | 14,081 | 14,241 | 15,901 | 18,359 | ||
| Danville, IL μSA | 71,652 | Vermilion County, Illinois | 71,652 | 74,188 | 81,625 | 83,919 | 87,079 | 65,635 |
| Champaign-Urbana-Danville CSA | 307,260 | |||||||
The Champaign-Urbana Metro area has twohospitals located less than a mile apart near University Avenue inUrbana. TheCarle Foundation Hospital, andOSF Heart of Mary Medical Center, with a combined total of over 550physicians. Both hospitals provide various specialized services, and Carle Hospital currently has a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a Level I Trauma Center, and a medical helicopter service. Both hospitals have struggled to maintain theirtax-exempt status with theState of Illinois.[21]
Carle Clinic Association was purchased by the Carle Foundation in 2010. It was renamedCarle Foundation Physician Services,[22] and it maintains several locations next to the hospital, as well as other locations within Champaign-Urbana and other East Central Illinois cities. Christie Clinic, another smaller multi-specialty group practice, is headquartered in downtownChampaign. They are largely affiliated with OSF, but not as closely linked as their Carle counterparts are.
Both hospitals and clinics are affiliated with the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana, part of the larger University of Illinois College of Medicine, which has campuses inChicago,Peoria,Rockford, andUrbana. The college has a teaching presence at both hospitals, although the facilities are somewhat more extensive at Carle Foundation Hospital.
Piatt County, which is included in the Champaign-Urbana Metro Area, also has a hospital. Kirby Medical Center is a general medical and surgical facility located in Monticello. Both Carle Clinic and Christie Clinic have satellite facilities located at Kirby.
The Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area is home to many theaters. TheUniversity is home to three theater venues;Foellinger Auditorium, theState Farm Center and theKrannert Center for the Performing Arts. While the State Farm Center is primarily a campus basketball and concert arena, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is considered to be one of the nation's top venues for performance and hosts over 400 performances annually. Built in 1969, the Krannert Center's facilities cover over four acres (16,000 m2) of land, and features four theatres and an amphitheatre.
The Historic Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign is a public venue owned by theChampaign Park District. It is best known for hostingRoger Ebert'sFilm Festival which occurs annually during the last week of April. The Virginia also features a variety of performances from community theatre with theChampaign Urbana Theatre Company, to post box office showings of popular films, current artistic films, live musical performances (both orchestral and popular), and other types of shows. First commissioned in 1921, it originally served as a venue for both film and live performances, but became primarily a movie house in the 1950s. Occasional live events were held during the 1970s and 1980s, including a live production of "Oh, Calcutta" and performances byGeorge Benson,Stevie Ray Vaughan,Missing Persons, and theIndigo Girls. GKC Corporation closed the Virginia as a movie house on February 13, 1992, with the final regular film beingSteve Martin's "Father of the Bride". The theatre once again began holding regular live performances when it was leased to local gospel singer David Wyper in 1992. TheChampaign-Urbana Theatre Company was formed to perform major musicals and opened their first season with "The Music Man" that June. Control passed to the Virginia Theatre group in 1996 and the theater became a nonprofit public venue. TheChampaign Park District assumed control of the facilities in 2000. Its original Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ[23] has been maintained by Warren York since 1988 and is still played regularly.
The Art Theater[24] in downtown Champaign began as Champaign's first theatre devoted to movies, the Park, in 1913, and was a small venue showing films not normally playing at the box office. The theatre was the only single-screen movie theatre with daily operation as a movie theatre in Champaign-Urbana. The theater ceased operations on October 31 of 2019.[25] The Virginia, which hosts Roger Ebert's Annual Overlooked Film Festival, is also single-screen, but only opens for special showings and events.Rapp and Rapp's 1914 Orpheum Theatre[26] closed in the mid-1980s and now houses a children's science museum.Parkland College inChampaign features a small theatre called the Parkland College Theatre and a planetarium called the William M. Staerkel Planetarium.
The area has originated a great deal of musical talent, includingREO Speedwagon,Head East,Dan Fogelberg, andAlison Krauss, as well asHUM,Starcastle,Poster Children,Hardvark,The Moon Seven Times,Braid,AMASONG,Castor,National Skyline,Love Cup,Absinthe Blind,Headlights,American Football, andThe Beauty Shop. Some lesser known artists likeAlma Afrobeat Ensemble,Zirafa andSpinnerty, d-Lo, Bozak, Melodic Scribes, DJ Librarian,UC Hiphop, andZmick are also worthy of note on simply a local scale. Champaign-Urbana is relatively well known for producing a rich array of emo, college rock, and black metal.
The cities now hostPygmalion Music Festival on an annual basis, presented by theNicodemus Agency andKrannert Center for the Performing Arts. Past performers includeIron and Wine,The Books,Yacht,Rjd2,Yo La Tengo,Black Mountain,Asobi Seksu,Times New Viking,of Montreal,Danielson,Man Man,Okkervil River,Andrew Bird,Questlove, and more. The 2010 festival took place September 22–25.
The twin cities have a large number and variety of restaurants from long-standing breakfast and pizza traditions to newer, high-end dinner spots with "Chicago-style" aspirations. There is a wide representation of cuisines as well as many vegetarian and vegan choices.[27] This has led to state-wide, mentioned on "Best of Illinois" lists,[28] and regional recognition, receiving the Midwest Living magazine's 'Greatest Food Town' award in 2017[29][30]
In 2009, the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the fourth highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who walked to work (9 percent).[33] In 2013, the Champaign-Urbana MSA ranked as the eleventh lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (78.4 percent). During the same year, 7.9 percent of Champaign area commuters walked to work.[34]
Interstate 74 runs east–west through Champaign and Urbana.Interstate 57 runs north–south through the west part of Champaign.Interstate 72 terminates at Champaign. U.S. Routes45 and150 pass through the cities as well, and Illinois Routes 10 and 130 originate in Champaign and Urbana, respectively.
The Champaign-Urbana area is served by theChampaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, which has its main interchange atIllinois Terminal. While primarily servingRantoul andDanville respectively,Champaign County Area Rural Transit System andDanville Mass Transit also provide connecting service to the Illinois Terminal. Illinois Terminal also provides service byGreyhound Lines,Burlington Trailways, and theAmtrakCity of New Orleans,Illini andSaluki routes, making it a regional transportation hub.
TheUniversity of Illinois Willard Airport inSavoy on the south side of Champaign provides air service throughAmerican Eagle.
While greater Champaign-Urbana does not feature any professional sports teams, theUniversity of Illinois fields many teams which compete in theBig Ten Conference.Memorial Stadium and theState Farm Center (formerly the Assembly Hall) are both located in the south-east portion ofChampaign. Memorial Stadium is afootball arena where theFighting Illini football team plays, and the State Farm Center is the home of the highly successfulFighting Illini basketball team. TheNFL'sChicago Bears played in Memorial Stadium for the 2002 season whileSoldier Field was being modernized and refurbished.
The city ofChampaign has been working with theFrontier League to create a privately owned professional baseball team. The team was scheduled to start playing in the 2009 baseball season, but was delayed in 2008 to the 2010 season at the earliest.[35] Since then however, there has been no development on the matter.
TheUniversity of Illinois hosted the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in May at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex next to the Atkins Tennis Center and Eichelberger Field just south of Florida Avenue inUrbana. The Illini Men's Tennis team won the 2003 NCAA tennis championships and is highly ranked nationally.
Since 2009, Champaign-Urbana has been the home of theIllinois Marathon.
The following people are from the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area or attended the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign:
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