Funny how the words fit together so smoothly yet, when combined, seem grating to the ears of many who reside in the region.\u00a0 The peculiar antipathy between Milwaukee County and Waukesha County may reflect the ways in which people have segregated themselves geographically based on cultural\/political orientation.\u00a0 Waukesha County is 94% \u201cwhite alone\u201d according to Census Bureau data, while Milwaukee County is over one-quarter black or African-American and over one-eighth Hispanic or Latino.\u00a0 In the 2014 gubernatorial election, over two-thirds of Waukesha voters supported Scott Walker, while in Milwaukee County it was closer to one-third.\u00a0 Waukesha is more affluent, less racially diverse, and more Republican than Wisconsin as a whole.\u00a0 Milwaukee is the opposite.<\/p>\n
There is, indeed, some basis for an us-and-them mentality.<\/p>\n
But the positive connections are truly powerful. \u00a0To trace a bit of the history, Milwaukee\u2019s population was about ten times greater than Waukesha\u2019s from 1900 until 1950.\u00a0 Then Waukesha\u2019s population began to surge, growing more than four-fold since 1950, to about 400,000, while Milwaukee\u2019s population has remained pretty constant at around one million.\u00a0 The result is that Waukesha now has about 40% as many residents as Milwaukee, thus bringing the counties into closer balance.\u00a0 Waukesha is now the third-most populous county in Wisconsin; in 1950, it was seventh-most populous, slightly ahead of Outagamie and Sheboygan and trailing Brown, Rock, and Winnebago, among others.\u00a0 Waukesha has become a powerful residential draw and also a draw for businesses, almost certainly in large part due to its proximity to Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Before 1846, the current Milwaukee and Waukesha counties formed a single Milwaukee County.\u00a0 Although the political tie was broken over 150 years ago, the economic integration is remarkably strong.\u00a0 The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development estimated in its 2013 Milwaukee County Workforce profile that nearly 62,000 Waukesha County residents work in Milwaukee County, which represents a sizable proportion of the county\u2019s 395,000 residents. \u00a0Just as impressively, almost 60,000 Milwaukee County residents work in Waukesha County, according to the department\u2019s estimate. \u00a0It is clear that the 24-mile border between the counties is hardly a stumbling block for much economic activity in the region.<\/p>\n
And the integration is not just economic.\u00a0 The Milwaukee Brewers drew nearly 20% of their spectators during the 2014 season from Waukesha County to the team\u2019s home in Milwaukee County.\u00a0 That compares to 34% of the Brewers\u2019 attendance coming from Milwaukee County residents.\u00a0 This suggests that the Brewers receive proportionately greater support in attendance from Waukesha than from Milwaukee. \u00a0The Milwaukee Public Museum, another leading Milwaukesha cultural asset, drew nearly 40,000 visits from Waukesha County residents in 2014, and another 6,000 visits from Waukesha school children.\u00a0 And how many Waukesha residents do we imagine must come to Milwaukee for Summerfest, Bradford Beach, the Milwaukee County Zoo, Mitchell Field, Mayfair Mall, and the Bradley Center?<\/p>\n
None of this is news to most Milwaukesha residents.\u00a0 To judge from the data, hundreds of thousands of us regularly cross the county line to work, eat, shop, or recreate and pay little attention to the political boundary.\u00a0 But we do seem to trip over the county line when it comes to certain amenities, such as water for Waukesha or rail service in Milwaukee.\u00a0 Municipal boundaries can contribute to an especially narrow conception of \u201clocal\u201d interest.\u00a0 We would do well to think more broadly.\u00a0 Good times in either county are likely to bring good times for the other.\u00a0 The opposite is also true.\u00a0 Like it or not, we are in this together.\u00a0 And personally, having lived in both counties, I find abundant reasons to appreciate their interdependence and proximity.<\/p>\n
It may take a rather colossal dose of some attitude-changing elixir, but we would do well to come to the view that Milwaukesha is an enhancement of each word, not a debasement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Funny how the words fit together so smoothly yet, when combined, seem grating to the ears of many who reside in the region.\u00a0 The peculiar antipathy between Milwaukee County and Waukesha County may reflect the ways in which people have segregated themselves geographically based on cultural\/political orientation.\u00a0 Waukesha County is 94% \u201cwhite alone\u201d according to 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