Plano, Texas

Plano, Texas, USA

City flag City seal
City nickname: "An All-American City"
Location within the state of Texas
State	Texas
Mayor	Pat Evans
Area   –Land   –Water	185.5 km² 185.5 km² 0.2 km²
Population   –Total (2000)   –Density	222,030 1197.57 persons/km²
Time zone   –Summer (DST)	CST (UTC-6) CDT (UTC-5)
Latitude Longitude	33°03'01" N 96°44'45" W
Official website: http://www.planotx.org/

Plano is a northern suburb of Dallas, Texas located in Collin County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 222,030, making it the ninth largest city in Texas. Plano is the home to many corporate headquarters, including Dr Pepper, Electronic Data Systems, Frito Lay and JCPenney.

History

In the early 1840s, several settlers came to the area around Plano. Several nearby facilities including a sawmill, gristmill and a store brought more people to the area. Mail service was established and after rejecting several names for the budding town (including naming it in honor of then-President Millard Fillmore), the locals suggested the name Plano, which they incorrectly believed to be the Spanish word for "plain," a reference to the terrain of the area (the actual word for plain in the Spanish language is llano). The name was accepted by the Post Office and Plano was born.

In 1872, the completion of the Houston and Texas Railroad helped to grow the city, increasing the population to more than 500 by 1874. In 1873, the city officially incorporated.

In 1881, a fire raged through the central business district, destroying most of the buildings: 51 in all. However, the town rebuilt itself and business again flourished through the 1880s.

Unlike many of the other Dallas suburbs, which were closer to Dallas itself, the population of Plano initially grew slowly, reaching 1,304 in 1900 and increasing to 3,695 in 1960. By 1970, however, Plano began to feel some of the boom its neighbors experienced following World War II. A series of public works projects and a change in taxes that removed the farming community from the town helped to increase the overall population of Plano. In 1970, the population reached 17,872 and by 1980, the population had exploded to 72,000 people. Almost unbelievably the sewers, schools and street development kept easy pace with this massive increase largely due to Plano's flat topography, grid layout and excellent planning.

During the 1980s, many large corporations moved their headquarters to Plano, including JC Penney and Frito-Lay, which helped to further grow the city as more people desired to move closer to where they worked. By 1990, the population had reached 128,713 and now dwarfed the county seat of McKinney.

By 2000, the population nearly doubled again to 222,030, making it one of the largest suburbs in the Dallas area. However, the area's suburban sprawl has pushed beyond Plano and the city is currently undergoing a "leveling out" of population. Plano is completely locked in by other municipalities, and cannot expand in area without annexing a neighboring city. There is very little undeveloped land remaining within the city limits, so population is unlikely to increase much in the near future.

Plano is the home to two campuses of the Collin County Community College District, one at the Courtyard Center on Preston Park Boulevard and the larger Spring Creek Campus on Spring Creek Parkway at Jupiter.

Six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is a Plano native.

Geography

Plano is located at 33°3'1" North, 96°44'45" West (33.050374, -96.745935)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 185.5 km² (71.6 mi²). 185.4 km² (71.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.08% water.

Transportation

Plano is one of many cities in the Dallas area that opts into the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) public transportation system. During most of its membership in DART, Plano was lightly served by bus lines, but in recent years, DART's successful light rail project, the Red Line, has opened stations in downtown Plano and at Parker Road. These stations enjoy heavy usage by people commuting to work elsewhere in Dallas.

Plano was the first of many cities in Collin County to adopt a master plan for their road system. The Plano grid makes traveling inside the city easy and hassle-free. Usage of divided highways for all major roads allows for higher speed limits on those thoroughfares, generally 40 MPH.

Plano is served directly by several freeways, including U.S. Highway 75, the Dallas North Tollway, the President George Bush Turnpike, and SH 121 (which is currently under construction). For reference to other regional freeways, see List of Dallas freeways.

Business

Plano is the corporate headquarters for some of the country's largest and most-recognized companies. The street Legacy Drive on the northwest side of town, between Preston Road and State Highway 121, is full of corporate campuses. The following lists companies with their headquarters in Plano:

• Electronic Data Systems
• JC Penny
• Dr Pepper
• Frito Lay

Education

The Plano Independent School District is the main school district for Plano.

Plano Students and National Headlines

Plano students achieved notoriety following a cluster of nine suicides in 1983 that raised national awareness about suburban teenage depression and drug abuse. The drug specifically cited by many was heroin. This heroin problem resurfaced in the late 1990's, culminating in coverage by several major news outlets such as NBC's Dateline.

In July 2003, Taylor Hooton, a student athlete at Plano West High School, committed suicide which many believed was connected to depression caused by the use of steroids used for performance enhancement. Much like the city's suicide and heroin issues of the 1980's and 1990's, this incident drew national focus to the issues of high school athletes and steroid use. Chris Wash was featured on the cover of the December 20, 2004, Newsweek magazine wearing a Plano West Senior High School shirt in an article about the use of steroids in high schools. On March 10, 2005, Don Hooton (the father of Taylor) testified before a Congressional Subcommittee about the use of steroids in high school. This was a widely covered event as several prominent baseball players including Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire testified as well.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 222,030 people, 80,875 households, and 60,575 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,197.8/km² (3,102.4/mi²). There are 86,078 housing units at an average density of 464.4/km² (1,202.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 78.26% White, 5.02% African American, 0.36% Native American, 10.18% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.86% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. 10.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 80,875 households out of which 42.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% are married couples living together, 7.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% are non-families. 20.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.73 and the average family size is 3.18.

In the city the population is spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $78,722, and the median income for a family is $91,162. Males have a median income of $64,668 versus $39,617 for females. The per capita income for the city is $36,514. 4.3% of the population and 3.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.