Mansfield

Coordinates: 53°08′37″N 1°11′47″W / 53.1435°N 1.1963°W / 53.1435; -1.1963

Mansfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district and is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area. Nestling in a pocket within the Maun Valley surrounded by hills, the town is around 12 miles (19 km) north of Nottingham. The district of Mansfield is a largely urban area situated in the north west of Nottinghamshire populated by 99,600 residents, the vast majority of whom live in Mansfield (including Mansfield Woodhouse), with Market Warsop a secondary centre, and the remainder in the rural north of the district. Adjacent to the urban area of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Mansfield is the only major sub-regional centre in Nottinghamshire covering an area of 30 square miles (78 sq km). The Centre for Cities (2009) categorises the town as a 'small city', although it does not officially hold city status.

Mansfield is the only local authority area in the county to have a directly elected Mayor and in October 2008 Mansfield elected its first Youth Mayor.

Mansfield, Texas

Mansfield is a suburban city located mostly in Tarrant county, with small parts in Ellis, Johnson and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. Its location is almost equidistant to Dallas, Fort Worth and DFW Airport. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,368. The population of Mansfield is estimated to grow to 59,831 in 2012 and projected to reach 70,019 in 2017.

CNN/Money Magazine ranked Mansfield at #17 in 2014 in its annual "Best Places To Live" list. Mansfield has been in that list in the recent past: in 2007, 2009, and 2012, ranking it 83rd, 24th, and 30th, respectively.

History

The first wave of European settlers arrived in the rolling Cross Timbers country of north central Texas in the 1840s. Primarily of Scotch-Irish origins, these pioneer farmers came for the most part from southern states, following the frontier as it shifted west of the Mississippi. They entered an area where Native Americans had been living for thousands of years. The Comanche posed a serious threat to the settlers, and in 1849, the U.S. Army established Fort Worth to protect the farms along the sparsely populated frontier.

Texas

Texas /ˈtɛksəs/ (Spanish: Texas or Tejas [ˈtexas]) is a state in the United States of America. It is the second most populous and second largest state by area in the US. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares an international border with Mexico to the south and borders the states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²) and a growing population of over 27.5 million residents (July 2015).

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan statistical areas, respectively. Other major cities include Austin (the state capital) and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texan state flag and on the Texan state seal. The origin of the state name, Texas, is from the word, "Tejas", which means 'friends' in the Caddo language.

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation, also informally known as Parks and Rec, is an American political comedy television sitcom starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009 to February 24, 2015 for 125 episodes over seven seasons. It uses the same filming style used in The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everyone. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, Retta, and Billy Eichner.

The writers researched local California politics for the show and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Poehler's character of Leslie Knope underwent major changes after the first season in response to audience feedback that she seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". The writing staff incorporated current events into their episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis. Several guest stars, such as Will Arnett, Sam Elliott, Bill Murray, and Paul Rudd, have been featured in the show, and these characters often appear in multiple episodes.