ʻAiea, Hawaii

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View from 99-700th block of ʻAiea Heights Drive in ʻAiea Heights down to Pearl Harbor (south). The USS Missouri museum ship can be seen moored at the far right.

ʻAiea is a town and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a total population of 9,019.

The people of Aiea pronounce it "I-ayuh". (IPA /ʔai.ea/)

At 41.41% of residents reporting the ancestry, 'Aiea contains the largest concentration of persons of Japanese heritage in the United States.

Some residents of ʻAiea claim that their town is the only town in the world spelled entirely with vowels. This claim may or may not be valid, depending on whether or not one regards the ʻokina to be part of the name "ʻAiea". Because the ʻokina is considered a consonant in the Hawaiian language, this claim is technically incorrect. However, when people outside of Hawaiʻi speak of ʻAiea, the ʻokina is typically omitted. In this context, the claim that ʻAiea is spelled only with vowels is true. However, there are many other towns in the world spelled with only vowels, including but not limited to Ea, Spain and Aue in Germany, several towns in Norway and Sweden named Å, and a village, forest and valley in Scotland called Ae.

The U.S. postal code for ʻAiea is 96701.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Attractions
5 Education
6 External links

[edit] Geography

ʻAiea is located at 21°23'9" North, 157°55'51" West (21.385900, -157.930927)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.3 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.71% water. Although ʻAiea as a census district may be only the small 4.5 km² noted above, most residents, when describing "ʻAiea," are referring to most of the northern shore of East Loch of Pearl Harbor to ʻAiea Bay, including the associated uplands rising to the north into the Koʻolau Mountains.

Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 90) divides most of ʻAiea from the shore of Pearl Harbor (mostly US government property), and the parallel major thoroughfare, interstate freeway H-1, further cuts the town's commercial district into two distinct areas. These east-west routes (and other streets, such as Moanalua Road) connect ʻAiea to Pearl City immediately adjacent on the west and Hālawa adjacent on the east. The residential area known as ʻAiea Heights extends up the ridgeline above the town. The communities of Newtown Estates and Royal Summit are located at the western edge of ʻAiea near its border with Pearl City at Kaʻahumanu Street. Residents of the census-designated places (CDP) of Waimalu and Hālawa use ʻAiea in their postal address.

[edit] History

ʻAiea was originally the name of an ahupuaʻa, or Hawaiian land division. It stretched from ʻAiea Bay (part of Pearl Harbor) into the mountains to the north. At the end of the 19th century, a sugar cane plantation was opened in the district by the Honolulu Plantation Company.

As ʻAiea has several miles of shoreline on Pearl Harbor, the focus of the 7 December 1941 attack by the Japanese on military installations there greatly impacted the town. For example, one damaged ship, the USS Vestal, beached at ʻAiea Bay to prevent sinking. Many photographers photographed the battle from the hills in ʻAiea.

After World War II the plantation shut down and the mill was converted into a sugar refinery. Meanwhile, developers started extending the town into the surrounding former sugar cane fields. In the years since then, ʻAiea has grown into an important suburb of Honolulu. The town's sugar history came to a close in 1996, when C&H Sugar closed the refinery. Then in 1998, the 99-year old sugar mill was torn down by the owners, amid protests from town residents and the County government.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,019 people, 2,758 households, and 2,258 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,110.5/km² (5,463.5/mi²). There were 2,831 housing units at an average density of 662.5/km² (1,714.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 16.25% White, 0.85% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 58.31% Asian, 5.08% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 18.59% from two or more races. 5.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,758 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 13.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.24 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $71,155, and the median income for a family was $75,992. Males had a median income of $41,384 versus $32,394 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,111. 4.6% of the population and 3.4% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.1% of those under the age of 18 and 4.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

[edit] Attractions

ʻAiea is the home of Pearlridge, Hawaiʻi's largest enclosed shopping center and second largest shopping center in the state. The mall is separated into two sections, known as Uptown and Downtown, includes the only monorail in Hawaiʻi, the only hospital located on mall property (Kapiʻolani Medical Center at Pali Momi), and Hawaiʻi's largest watercress farm (Sumida Farm).

[edit] Education

All areas of Hawaii are served by public schools of the Hawai'i Department of Education. Specifically, ʻAiea is served by ʻAiea High School, ʻAiea Intermediate School, and five elementary schools - ʻAiea Elementary, Alvah A. Scott Elementary, Waimalu Elementary, Pearl Ridge Elementary, and Gus Webling Elementary.