Provo, Utah

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Provo is a city in Utah and the county seat of Utah County, located about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City and near the cities of Orem and Springville, Utah. It is perhaps best-known as home to the main campus of Brigham Young University.

Settled in 1849 by 33 families from Salt Lake City, Provo has grown to a population of 105,166 (2000 Census), although a 2004 Census Bureau estimate places its population at 99,624, which has been protested by the Mayor of Provo. In October 2005, The Census Bureau revised Provo's estimated population to be 111,718. This would make it the third largest city in Utah behind Salt Lake City and West Valley City. The site was named Fort Utah by the Mormon settlers, but re-named Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.

The city remains heavily Mormon (LDS); according to one report, the population in Provo is 88% LDS.[1]

One of the Wasatch peaks towers over the city, facing Utah Lake. There is a large "Y" made of whitewashed concrete half-way up the steep mountain, built in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate Brigham Young University (original plans included construction of all three letters: BYU). Wild deer (and less frequently, cougars and moose) still roam the mountains. The scenery is generally considered enjoyable and allows for hiking, skiing, fishing and other outdoor activities.

Every July, Provo hosts the Stadium of Fire at BYU. It is held in LaVell Edwards Stadium, home to Brigham Young University's NCAA American football team. The Independence Day festivites are quite popular among local residents and have featured such notable figures as David Hasselhoff, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore, Huey Lewis and the News and Sean Hannity.

Software company Novell, Inc. was founded and originally headquartered in Provo. The city also owns and operates iProvo, the nation's largest municipal Fiber to the Home network.

Interstate 15 links Provo with other nearby cities.

Contents

Geography

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Provo is located at 40°14'40" North, 111°39'39" West (40.244421, -111.660804)1. It lies in the Utah Valley at an elevation of 4,549 feet (1,387 meters).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 108.2 km² (41.8 mi²). 102.7 km² (39.6 mi²) of it is land and 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.14% water. [2]

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 105,166 people, 29,192 households, and 19,938 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,024.3/km² (2,653.2/mi²). There are 30,374 housing units at an average density of 295.8/km² (766.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 88.52% White, 0.46% African American, 0.80% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. 10.47% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 29,192 households out of which 33.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% are married couples living together, 7.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% are non-families. 11.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.34 and the average family size is 3.40.

22.3% of residents are under the age of 18, 40.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 8.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 23 years. For every 100 females there are 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $34,313, and the median income for a family is $36,393. Males have a median income of $32,010 versus $20,928 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,207. 26.8% of the population and 12.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.4% of those under the age of 18 and 4.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Politics

Elections

Provo is a conservative city. Local discussion of national politics tends to fall within the spectrum of moderately conservative to arch-conservative thought, with a few leftists mostly represented by student groups or university professors. However, Utah's 3rd Congressional District, of which Provo is a part, elected a Democrat (Bill Orton) to three consecutive terms during the 1990s. Oddly, although Provoans tend to have a keen interest in national politics, they tend to pick and choose local issues to follow. One of the hot-button topics in recent years has been scrutiny of the city's zoning laws.

Brigham Young University

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Perhaps the most notable thing about Provo is that it is the location of Brigham Young University, a private university operated by the LDS Church (Mormon). BYU is the largest private university in the state, with more than 34,000 students. The large population of students makes Provo a "college town." Provo's ambiance differs from other college towns, however, since the majority of its students are LDS - the church strongly discourages the consumption of alcohol, and BYU is consistently rated the most "stone-cold sober" university in the United States.

Most BYU students live near BYU's campus. BYU requires that single students live in approved, non-coed housing, and new rules will keep apartments from being "BYU-approved" if they are more than two miles from the center of campus. Many students live either in on-campus housing north of the University or just south of campus, in an area dedicated to student apartments and condos.

Provo Temple

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The LDS Church operates one of their temples in Provo. It is in an elevated location, near the mouth of Rock Canyon. Members of the LDS Church believe that sacred ordinances performed in their consecrated temples will have effect not only in this life but throughout the eternities. Members in good standing may enter the temple to perform these ordinances for themselves and for those who have passed on before them. The restored teachings of these ordinances for the living and dead are pivotal to the LDS faith, and the doctrine of this sacred temple "work", reminiscent of the ordinances performed in the days of Moses and other prophets, sets this religion apart from other religions. These ordinances provide a way for patrons to become free from the sins of their generation and bind family members together to make possible the continuation as a family in the hereafter.

Missionary Training Center

Provo is home to the LDS Church's largest Missionary Training Center (MTC). It is here that a large number of LDS missionaries go for a period of training before they depart for their mission field. The center in Provo was built in the 1970s.

Points of interest

External links

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State of Utah
Cities | Counties | Flag | Flower | Governors | Song
Utah portal

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State Capital:

Salt Lake City

Regions:

Cache Valley | Dixie | Great Salt Lake | Great Salt Lake Desert | Uinta Mountains | Wasatch Back | Wasatch Front | Wasatch Range

Metropolitan Areas

(with constituent cities):

Logan

Ogden-Clearfield - Bountiful | Layton | Roy

Provo-Orem - Lehi | Pleasant Grove

Saint George

Salt Lake City - Cottonwood Heights | Draper | Holladay | Midvale | Murray | Park City | Riverton | Sandy | South Jordan | Taylorsville | Tooele | West Jordan | West Valley City

Micropolitan Areas:

Brigham City | Cedar City | Heber | Price | Vernal

Counties:

Beaver | Box Elder | Cache | Carbon | Daggett | Davis | Duchesne | Emery | Garfield | Grand | Iron | Juab | Kane | Millard | Morgan | Piute | Rich | Salt Lake | San Juan | Sanpete | Sevier | Summit | Tooele | Uintah | Utah | Wasatch | Washington | Wayne | Weber

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