Redevelopment
When The Mirage, the first Megaresort, opened in 1989, it started a movement of people and construction away from downtown Las Vegas to the Las Vegas Strip. This resulted in a drop in tourism from the downtown area but many recent projects and condo construction has seen an increase in visitors to downtown.
A concerted effort has been made by city officials to diversify the economy from tourism by attracting light manufacturing, banking, and other commercial interests. The lack of any state individual or corporate income tax and very simple incorporation requirements have fostered the success of this effort.
Having been late to develop an urban core of any substantial size, Las Vegas has retained very affordable real estate prices in comparison to other western U.S. cities. Consequently, the city has recently enjoyed an enormous boom both in population and in tourism. However, as a New York Times series on the city reported in 2004, the median price of housing in the Las Vegas Valley is now at or above the nationwide median. The urban area has grown outward so quickly that it is beginning to run into Bureau of Land Management holdings along its edges, increasing land values enough that medium- and high-density development is beginning to occur closer to the core.
As a reflection of the city's rapid growing population, the new Chinatown of Las Vegas was constructed in the early 1990s on Spring Mountain Road. Chinatown initially consisted of only one large shopping center complex, but the area was recently expanded for new shopping centers that contain various Asian businesses.
With the Strip expansion in the 1990s, the downtown area (which has maintained an old Las Vegas feel) began to suffer. The city made a concise effort to turn around the fortunes of downtown. The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) was built in an effort to draw tourists back to the area and has proven to be popular in that regard. The multi-level Neonopolis, complete with 11 theaters (managed by Galaxy Theaters, Inc.), was built to offer more retail opportunity and services. Many highrise condo projects have also been underway as downtown is transforming into a livable neighborhood. Other promising signs emerged for the area. The city had successfully lured the Internal Revenue Service operations from the far west of the city to a new downtown building that opened in April 2005. The IRS move is expected to create a greater demand for additional businesses in the area, especially in the daytime hours.
The city purchased 61 acres (247,000 m2) of property from Union Pacific Railroad in 1995 with the goal of creating something that would draw more tourists and locals to the downtown area. In 2004 Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced plans for the Union Park Development which will include residential and office high-rises, The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, an academic medical center, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and a new City Hall. After failed negotiations with The Related Co. on the development of Union Park in October of 2005, San Diego-based Newland Communities was chosen by the city as the new development firm. The Newland contract calls for Dan Van Epp, Newland's regional vice president and former president of the Howard Hughes Corp., to oversee his company's work on Union Park. The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is expected to be completed in 2007.
Along with the Union Park Development, other promising residential and office developments have begun construction around downtown Las Vegas. New condominium and hotel high rise projects have changed the entire Las Vegas skyline dramatically in recent years. Many large high-rise projects are planned for downtown Las Vegas as well as the Las Vegas Strip.
The city council of Las Vegas has also agreed on zoning changes on Fremont Street, which allows bars to be closer together, such as the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. It is expected that this change will bring more tourism and business to the downtown area.
In 2004, the city partnered with Cheetah Wireless Technologies and MeshNetwork to pilot a wide area mobile broadband system. The pilot system is installed downtown, around the Fremont Street Experience.
In 2005, on a lot adjacent to the city's 61 ac (247,000 m2), the World Market Center opened. It is intended to be the nation's and possibly the world's preeminent furniture wholesale showroom and marketplace, and is meant to compete with the current furniture market capital of High Point, North Carolina.
On October 23, 2006, plans were unveiled to build a World Jewelry Center in Downtown's Union Park. Similar to the World Market Center, the WJC will be a one stop shop for jewelry trade shows from around the world. The project proposes a 57-story, 815-foot (248 m) office tower.[7]
Culture
Tourism
The major attractions in Las Vegas are the hotels. The most famous hotels line Las Vegas Boulevard South, also known as the Las Vegas Strip. Many of these hotels carry thousands of rooms and are featured on various themes. There are, of course, large casino areas in these hotels as well. There are many hotel casinos in the city's downtown area as well, which was the original focal point of the city's gaming industry in its early days. Several large hotels and casinos are also located somewhat off the Strip but adjacent to it, as well as in the county around the city.
Some of the most notable casinos located downtown are on the Fremont Street Experience and include:
- Golden Nugget
- Four Queens
- Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel
- Fremont Casino
- Plaza Hotel & Casino
- Las Vegas Club
- Fitzgeralds Las Vegas
- Golden Gate Hotel and Casino
- California Hotel and Casino
Parks
- City of Las Vegas Parks listing
- Las Vegas Springs Preserve Recreational and educational facility
- Floyd Lamb State Park
Music
A number of popular music acts have originated from Las Vegas including rock bands The Killers, Panic! at the Disco, The Higher, Escape The Fate, Slaughter rhythm and blues group 702 and singer Jenny Lewis
While the electronic music duo The Crystal Method was founded in Los Angeles, both members, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, are from Las Vegas.
Local Arts
On the first Friday of each month, the "First Friday" celebration is held which exhibits the works of local artists and musicians in a section of the city's Downtown region now called the "Arts District".
Sports
Currently, Las Vegas is without any major-league level sports teams although the city's metropolitan population is as large or larger than current cities with professional sports teams such as Buffalo, New York; San Antonio; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; Indianapolis; Milwaukee; and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The hurdle the city needs to overcome is professional leagues being concerned about legalized sports betting in the city and the competition for residents' entertainment budget. High profile one-time sporting events, though, have had success. For example the Las Vegas metropolitan area hosted the NBA 2007 All-Star Game. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series race in the area has drawn up to 165,000 fans. Neither of these events have taken place directly in Las Vegas city limits (although that is no different than most cities teams that play in suburban areas).
Economy
The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have been the confluence of tourism, gaming, and conventions which in turn feed the retail and dining industries. Several companies involved in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines, such as slot machines, are located in the Las Vegas area. In the 2000s retail and dining have become attractions of their own.
Tourism marketing and promotion are handled by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a county wide agency. Its annual Visitors Survey provides detailed information on visitor numbers, spending patterns and resulting revenues [3].
Las Vegas, as the county seat and home to the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse, draws numerous legal service industries providing bail, marriage, divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.
Many technology companies have either relocated to Las Vegas or were created there. For various reasons, the Las Vegas area has had a high concentration of technology companies in electronic gaming and telecommunications industries. Some current technology companies in southern Nevada include Bigelow Aerospace, CommPartners, Datanamics, eVital Communications, Petroglyph, SkywireMedia, Switch Communications, and WorldDoc. Companies that originally were formed in Las Vegas, but have since sold or relocated include Westwood Studios (sold to Electronic Arts), Systems Research & Development (Sold to IBM), Yellowpages.com (Sold to Bellsouth and SBC), and MPower Communications.
Constant population growth means that the housing construction industry is vitally important. In 2000 more than 21,000 new homes and 26,000 resale homes were purchased. In early 2005 there were 20 residential development projects of more than 300 acres (1.2 km²) each currently underway.
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 2,304 | | |
| 1930 | 5,165 | 124.2% | |
| 1940 | 8,422 | 63.1% | |
| 1950 | 24,624 | 192.4% | |
| 1960 | 64,405 | 161.6% | |
| 1970 | 125,787 | 95.3% | |
| 1980 | 164,674 | 30.9% | |
| 1990 | 258,295 | 56.9% | |
| 2000 | 478,434 | 85.2% | |
| Est. 2006 | 552,539 | [8] | 15.5% |
| Source: City of Las Vegas[9] | |||
Las Vegas has been the county seat of Clark County since the formation of the county in 1909. The Census Bureau's official population estimate, as of 2006, was 552,539, though the city’s own Planning and Development Department reported a population of 591,536[1] as of July, 2006.
The United States Census Bureau 2006 estimates place the population for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area at 1,777,539 people, and the region is one of the fastest growing in the United States.[citation needed] Las Vegas proper was ranked as the 32nd most populous city in the United States in 2000, and 2006 estimates have placed the city 28th in rank.[10]
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 478,434 people, 176,750 households, and 117,538 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,222.5 people per square mile (1,630.3/km2). There are 190,724 housing units at an average density of 1,683.3/sq mi (649.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.86% White, 10.36% African American, 0.75% Native American, 4.78% Asian, 0.45% Pacific Islander, 9.75% from other races, and 4.05% from two or more races. Hispanics are 23.61% of the population. Non-Hispanics whites are 58.04%. The top 5 largest ancestries include: German (12.2%), Irish (9.8%), English (8.4%), Italian (6.7%), and American (4.5%).[12]
There were 176,750 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,069, and the median income for a family was $50,465. Males had a median income of $35,511 versus $27,554 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,060. About 6.6% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
As of the 2006 census estimate, the Las Vegas metropolitan area contained over 1.7 million residents, and contains the largest ethnic Hawaiian community outside of Hawaii.
In December, 2007, Clark County officially declared the population now exceeds 2 million residents. Current estimates place growth at 3 million people by 2019, and 4 million people by 2025.[13]
Las Vegas has one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of the U.S.[14][15] The city's high divorce rate is partly due to the fact that divorce is easier in Nevada than most other states. Individuals come from outside Nevada to receive an easier divorce than elsewhere in the country. Nevada also has liberal marriage laws, giving Las Vegas a higher marriage rate than many larger cities elsewhere.
Government
The City of Las Vegas government operates as a council-manager government. The Mayor sits as a Council member-at-large and presides over all of the City Council meetings. In the event that the Mayor cannot preside over a City Council meeting, the Mayor Pro-Tem is the presiding officer of the meeting until such time as the Mayor returns to his seat. The City Manager is responsible for the administration and the day-to-day operation of all of the municipal services and city departments. The City Manager also maintains intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, county and other local governments.
A large number of the people who live in what they call "Las Vegas" actually reside in neighboring incorporated cities or unincorporated communities. In fact, of the approximately 1.8 million people who live in the Las Vegas Valley, approximately 600,000 actually live inside Las Vegas city limits. Approximately 700,000 people live in unincorporated areas governed by Clark County, and another 465,000 live in incorporated cities such as North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City. Las Vegas and most of the surrounding metropolitan area share a police department. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provides most law enforcement services in the city and surrounding county after a 1975 merger of the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Department. Incorporated cities in Clark County, as well as colleges, parks and schools have their own police departments that fall outside of Metro's jurisdiction.
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