Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area
The Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign–Urbana and Urbana–Champaign as well as Chambana (colloquially), is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the metropolitan area has a population of 236,514 as of the 2022 U.S. Census, which ranks it as the 200th largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. The area is anchored by the principal cities of Champaign and Urbana, and is home to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system.
As of July 2023, the OMB defines the metropolitan area (officially designated the Champaign–Urbana, IL MSA) to consist of Champaign County, Piatt County, and Ford County.[1] From 2018 to 2023, Ford County was not considered a part of the metropolitan area.[2][3]
The MSA is part of the larger Champaign–Urbana–Danville Combined Statistical Area, which also includes the Danville micropolitan area, and has a population of 308,851 as of the 2022 U.S. Census.
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 of Silicon Valley.[4] Champaign–Urbana also ranked as tenth out of the top twenty-five green cities in the United States, in a 2007 survey made by Country Home magazine.[5]
Urban core development[edit]
A number of major developments have significantly changed downtown Champaign 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.[6] The 9-story M2 on Neil project is such an example. The project began in 2007[7] by taking down the facade of the deteriorated Trevett-Mattis Banking Co. which previously occupied the building site.[8] The facade was retained on the M2 building. Residents first began to lease space in the M2 in the winter of 2009.[9] 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.[10] In the Campustown area adjoining the University of Illinois, the new 24-story highrise apartment building 309 Green was ostensibly completed in the fall of 2007[11] but had partial occupancy at least through the fall of 2008.[12] 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.[13] The Burnham 310 Project, at 18 stories, which is also taller (in overall height), was finished in the fall of 2008 and includes student luxury apartments and a County Market grocery store. Burnham 310 connects downtown Champaign to Campustown. 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 the University 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 the State 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 downtown Urbana. These, among other developments, have given the Twin Cities a more urban feel.
Health[edit]
The Champaign-Urbana Metro area has two hospitals located less than a mile apart near University Avenue in Urbana. The Carle Foundation Hospital, and OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center, with a combined total of over 550 physicians. 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 their tax-exempt status with the State of Illinois.[20]
Carle Clinic Association was purchased by the Carle Foundation in 2010. It was renamed Carle Foundation Physician Services,[21] 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 downtown Champaign. 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 in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana. 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.
Transportation[edit]
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).[32] 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.[33]
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. Routes 45 and 150 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 the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, which has its main interchange at Illinois Terminal. While primarily serving Rantoul and Danville respectively, Champaign County Area Rural Transit System and Danville Mass Transit also provide connecting service to the Illinois Terminal. Illinois Terminal also provides service by Greyhound Lines, Burlington Trailways, and the Amtrak City of New Orleans, Illini and Saluki routes, making it a regional transportation hub.
The University of Illinois Willard Airport in Savoy on the south side of Champaign provides air service through American Eagle.
Sports[edit]
While greater Champaign-Urbana does not feature any professional sports teams, the University of Illinois fields many teams which compete in the Big Ten Conference. Memorial Stadium and the State Farm Center (formerly the Assembly Hall) are both located in the south-east portion of Champaign. Memorial Stadium is a football arena where the Fighting Illini football team plays, and the State Farm Center is the home of the highly successful Fighting Illini basketball team. The NFL's Chicago Bears played in Memorial Stadium for the 2002 season while Soldier Field was being modernized and refurbished.
The city of Champaign has been working with the Frontier 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.[34] Since then however, there has been no development on the matter.
The University 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 in Urbana. 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 the Illinois Marathon.
The following people are from the Champaign–Urbana Metropolitan Area or attended the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign:
