11-27-2001 PTRC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Demographic and Recreational Trends - Demographics — The City of Arden Hills is a mature largely developed community. It's residents, on average are: A. Older than the average Minnesota and Twin Cities area residents. B. There are fewer children and more senior citizens. C. There is a higher proportion of"baby boomers". D. There is more owner-occupied and less rental housing. E. There is a high proportion of two wage earner households. F. The City is more affluent than most. Arden Hills Minnesota Median age (yrs.) 36.2 35.4 Under 18 yrs old 20.0% 26.2% 65 yrs and over 13.9% 12.1% 45-59 yrs old 21.7% 18.1% Housing Own/Rent 88%/12% 75%/25% Implications: Over the next 10-20 years a significant proportion of Arden Hills residents will retire. Some will move out of the community, some may move to a smaller home and some will stay in their current home. This probably means some degree of change in neighborhood and community demographics. The higher median home values in Arden Hills may result in a higher proportion of established families and fewer first time homebuyers. Some new residents are likely to be younger and have more children than existing residents. The City should continue to monitor changes and to work with the school district to track demographic and student population changes. If the change is significant the city can restructure recreation programs and may need to re-evaluate facility supply. Discretionary time is likely to remain at a premium. Many senior citizens are active park and trail users. Recreation Trends — Recreation interests and participation are influenced by many factors. Age, access to facilities, income, amount of leisure time, interest in the environment, new recreation technology, and social trends all influence recreation participation. In general people are looking for quality recreation close to home, but are willing to travel to obtain higher quality or more specialized activities. Current trends—The following recreation trends have been observed in the Twin Cities over the last ten years: • Trail use has boomed (walking, running, biking and in-line skating). • Non-contact recreation activities are growing. • Interest in arts and natural areas is growing. • Participation in many team sports has plateaued or in some cases declined. • More youth are specializing in one sport and training year-round. • Soccer participation has increased. • Golf has increased in popularity. • Women's sports have increased. • Off-leash dog parks are popular. 0 10