Survey ranks Honolulu
32nd among ‘kid-friendly’
U.S. cities

The study cites lower rates of
teen-age birth and infant mortality

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By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

Honolulu was ranked 32nd among 140 cities in a national survey that assessed how "kid friendly" those places were in terms of health, safety, educational and environmental conditions.

The city received an A- grade on a report card that looked at unemployment rate, SAT scores, school class size, crime rate, births to teen-agers, park acreage per person and library use in measuring cities.

A total of 239 American cities were surveyed for the 2001 report released yesterday by Zero Population Growth.

It was the eighth bi-annual "kid-friendly" assessment released by the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

Portland, Ore., topped the list of the nation's 25 major cities -- areas with 2 million people or more -- which were ranked separately. Overland Park, Kan., topped a category of 74 "component cities," incorporated suburban communities of more than 100,000 that are part of a greater metropolis.

Honolulu was included in an "independent city" grouping of cities with populations of more than 100,000 or centers of metropolitan areas of less than 2 million.

The category also included the largest cities of seven states where there were no cities that met the population requirement.

Topping the independent city category was Burlington, Vt., which has a population of 38,889.

Honolulu got a high grade in health improvement, with a decrease in teen-agers giving birth, to 7.4 percent in 1998 from 8.2 percent of total live births in 1990, the last available information.

Also considered were the infant mortality rate, down to 5.2 from 6.5 in the same period.

Honolulu was given "extra credit" for the city government's plan "to install at least 50 new children's playground sets annually in public parks."

Other facts about Honolulu in the report:

>> Some 19.2 percent of the population of 371,657 counted is under 18 years of age. The national average is 25.7 percent, according to the figures from the 2000 Census.

>> The city got a C in public safety. Violent crimes were 6 per 1,000 people and property crimes 109 per 1,000. Nationally, the average was 5 violent and 37 property crimes per 1,000, based on 1999 FBI figures.

>> Honolulu got an A in the new community life category. There are 42.8 acres of park per 1,000 people, compared to 12.1-acre average in the independent cities category.

>> The city got a B for education indicators. The average SAT score for Honolulu schoolchildren was 1007 out of the highest possible 1600. The national average is 1010 and for independent cities, 1024. The reported average class size of 23.4 youngsters was based on 1993 information.

>> The environment grade was A-. Honolulu was one of numerous cities with no "bad air days" as measured by the Environmental Protection Agency, compared to an average of 21 per year among major cities, 22 among component cities and 4 among independent cities.

>> Population declined by 6.1 percent from 1998. Nationally, a 4.1 percent increase was average.

Zero Population Growth believes that managing global population growth is necessary to sustain and improve a better quality of life for everyone, according to the report.