Prairie View, Texas

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Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,410 at the 2000 census.

Prairie View A&M University is located in the city.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government and Development
4 Education
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Prairie View is located at 30°4′56″N, 95°59′30″W (30.082131, -95.991788)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.7 km² (7.2 mi²), all land. The city is bisected by US 290 and is neighbored by Hempstead, Texas to the west, Waller, Texas to the east, and Pine Island, Texas to the south.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,410 people, 694 households, and 360 families residing in the city. The population density was 235.8/km² (611.0/mi²). There were 834 housing units at an average density of 44.6/km² (115.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 3.47% White, 93.51% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 1.36% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.65% of the population.

There were 694 households out of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.0% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the city the population was spread out with 9.1% under the age of 18, 68.2% from 18 to 24, 10.3% from 25 to 44, 6.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,805, and the median income for a family was $36,071. Males had a median income of $25,882 versus $21,161 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,219. About 13.2% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government and Development

The City of Prairie View was established in 1969 with the motto: "Productive, United, Indomitable." The city is operated by a mayor-council government of the strong-mayor format. The format functions with the Mayor serving as both Chair of the City Council and Chief Executive of the city's administration.

At present the city's mayor is the Frank Jackson. The city practices zoning to control land use and improve quality of life. The city has hired Butler Planning Services (BPS) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) which will aid the city staff in mapping the community. The city is also considering a partnership with BPS and another planning firm, IPS Group, to develop a new Comprehensive Plan.

[edit] Education

Aerial photo of the southwestern portion of the Prairie View A&M campus. Photograph acquired on September 29th, 2006 by Christopher Butler of Butler Planning Services

The City of Prairie View is served by the Waller Independent School District. Prairie View is also home to Prairie View A&M University, a system member of the Texas A&M University System. Among many notable academic departments, the university has well respected ROTC, engineering, health, education, and agriculture programs. Athletics at the institution have also received recognition including a recent conference championship in track and field in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The campus is situated on nearly 1,500 acres on the city's northern edge. The university was established in 1876 as a land-grant college, making it one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the State of Texas. The university grants both graduate and undergraduate degrees in more than 50 majors.