Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States

Education : Universities | Transport

🇺🇸 The ChampaignUrbana 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 ranks it as the 207th 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 March 2020, the OMB defines the metropolitan area (officially designated the Champaign–Urbana, IL MSA) to consist of Champaign County and Piatt County. Until 2018, Ford County was considered a part of the metropolitan area.

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. Champaign-Urbana also ranked tenth as one of the top twenty-five green cities in the United States, in a 2007 survey made by Country Home magazine.

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. The 9-story M2 on Neil project is such an example. The project began in 2007 by taking down the facade of the deteriorated Trevett-Mattis Banking Co. which previously occupied the building site. The facade was retained on the M2 building. Residents first began to lease space in the M2 in the winter of 2009. 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. 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 but had partial occupancy at least through the fall of 2008. 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. 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.

Education: Universities • The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is located jointly in Urbana and Champaign and is the flagship campus for the University of Illinois system. • Parkland College is a community college located in Champaign.

Transport 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). 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.

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. 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.

America/Chicago/Illinois 
<b>America/Chicago/Illinois</b>
Image: Adobe Stock haveseen #127479896

The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area has a population of over 222,538 people. For the location of Champaign-Urbana see: Champaign.

To set up a UBI Lab for Champaign-Urbana see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

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