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Metro Detroit
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The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit. As the home of the "Big Three" American automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler), it is the world's traditional automotive center and a key pillar of the U.S. economy.
ts core, Metro Detroit comprises the counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb.
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Encyclopedia
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit. As the home of the "Big Three" American automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler), it is the world's traditional automotive center and a key pillar of the U.S. economy.
Definitions
At its core, Metro Detroit comprises the counties of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb. These counties are sometimes referred to informally as the Detroit Tri-County Area.
The Detroit Urban Area, which serves as the core of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, ranks as the 9th most populous of the United States, with a population of 3,903,377 as of the 2000 census, and area of .
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the Detroit–Warren–Livonia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as the six counties of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 4,441,551. The Census Bureau's 2007 estimate placed the population at 4,467,592 million, which ranks it as the eleventh-largest MSA. The MSA covers an area of .
The nine-county area designated by the United States Census Bureau as the Detroit–Ann Arbor–Flint Combined Statistical Area (CSA) includes the three additional counties of Genesee, Monroe, and Washtenaw, the metropolitan areas of Flint, Ann Arbor, and Monroe, plus the Detroit-Warren-Livonia MSA. It had a population of 5,357,538 as of the 2000 census. The Census Bureau's 2007 estimate placed the population at 5,405,918. This CSA covers an area of . Lenawee County was removed from Detroit's CSA in 2000.
With the adjacent city of Windsor, Ontario and its suburbs, the combined Windsor-Detroit area has a population of about 5.9 million.
When the nearby Toledo Metropolitan Area and its commuters are taken into account, the region constitutes a much larger population center with an estimated 46 million people living within a radius of Detroit proper.
Economy
The region's nine county area with its population of 5.4 million has a workforce of nearly 2.8 million with about 240,000 businesses. Metro Detroit has made Michigan's economy a leader in information technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing; Michigan ranks fourth nationally in high tech employment with 568,000 high tech workers, including 70,000 in the automotive industry. Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall Research & development (R&D) expenditures in the United States. Metro Detroit is an important source of engineering job opportunities. The domestic auto industry accounts, directly and indirectly, for one of ten jobs in the United States.
Metro Detroit shared in the economic difficulties brought on by the severe stock market decline following the September 11, 2001 attacks which had caused a pension and benefit fund crisis for American companies including General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The American auto companies are proving to be more resilient than other affected industries as each implements its respective turnaround plan. Although retiree health care costs remain a significant issue, General Motors' investment strategy has generated a $17.1 billion pension fund surplus, an increase of $9.6 billion in 2006, moving the company closer to achieving its turnaround plans. During the Economic crisis of 2008, President George W. Bush extended loans from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds in order to help the Big three automakers bridge the recession, after final passage of a similar proposal had been blocked by a Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate. The President extended the loans to aid the auto industry's restructuring plans which include a goal to convert long term debt into equity and to make costs competitive.
Metro Detroit serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, known as TACOM, with Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) is one of America's largest and most recently modernized facilities, with six major runways, Boeing 747 maintenance facilities, and an attached Westin Hotel and Conference Center.
Detroit has major port status and an extensive toll-free expressway system. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the Detroit-Windsor region and $13 billion in annual production depend on Detroit's international border crossing. A source of top talent, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is one of the world's leading research institutions, and Wayne State University in Detroit has the largest single-campus medical school in the United States.
In 2004, led by Metro Detroit, Michigan ranked second nationally in new corporate facilities and expansions. From 1997 to 2004, Michigan was the only state to top the 10,000 mark for the number of major new developments. Metro Detroit is a leading corporate location with major office complexes such as the Renaissance Center, the Southfield Town Center, and Cadillac Place with the Fisher Building in the historic New Center area. Both BorgWarner and TRW Automotive Holdings chose Metro Detroit for their new headquarters. Quicken Loans, National City Bank, Ernst & Young, GMAC, Visteon, and OnStar are sources of growth. Compuware, IBM, Google, and Covansys are examples information technology and software companies with a headquarters or major presence in Metro Detroit. Electronic Data Systems (EDS) makes Metro Detroit its regional headquarters, and one of its largest global employment locations. The area is home to Rofin-Sinar, a leading maker of lasers. The metropolitan Detroit area has one of the nation's largest office markets with 147,082,003 square feet. Virtually every major U.S company and many from around the globe have a presence in Metro Detroit. Chrysler's largest corporate facility is its U.S. headquarters and technology center in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills. Downtown Detroit reported $1.3 billion in restorations and new developments for 2006.
Tourism
Tourism is an important component of the region's culture and economy, comprising nine percent of the area's two million jobs. About 15.9 million people visit metro Detroit annually, spending about $4.8 billion. Detroit is the largest city or metro area in the U.S. to offer casino resorts (MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, Greektown Casino, and nearby Casino Windsor). Metro Detroit is tourist destination easily accommodating super-sized crowds to events such as the North American International Auto Show, the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, Tastefest, and Super Bowl XL. The Detroit International Riverfront links the Renaissance Center a series of venues, parks, restaurants, and hotels. In 2006, the four-day Motown Winter Blast drew a cold weather crowd of about 1.2 million people to Campus Martius Park area downtown. Detroit's metroparks include fresh water beaches such as Metropolitan Beach, Kensington Beach, and Stony Creek Beach. Metro Detroit offers canoeing through the Huron-Clinton Metroparks as well as downhill and cross-county skiing at Alpine Valley Ski Resort, Mt. Brighton, Mt. Holly, and Pine Knob Ski Resort. The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife preserve in North America, uniquely located in the heart of a major metropolitan area. The Refuge includes islands, coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals, and waterfront lands along 48 miles of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie shoreline.
Metro Detroit contains a number of shopping malls, including the upscale Somerset Collection in Troy and the Great Lakes Crossing outlet mall in Auburn Hills, both major draws for tourists.
The region's leading attraction is The Henry Ford, located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, which is America's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex. The recent renovation of the Renaissance Center, a state of the art cruise ship dock, new stadiums, and a new RiverWalk have spurred economic development. Nearby Windsor has a 19 year old drinking age with a myriad of entertainment to complement Detroit's Greektown district. Tourism planners have yet to tap the potential economic impact of the estimated 46 million people that live within a 300 mile (480 km) radius of Detroit.
Sports
Professional sports has a major fan following in Metro Detroit. The area is home to many sports teams, including six professional teams in four major sports. The area's several universities field teams in a variety of sports. Michigan Stadium, home of the Michigan Wolverines, is the largest American football stadium in the world. Metro Detroit hosts many annual sporting events including auto and hydroplane racing. The area has hosted many major sporting events, including the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl XVI, Super Bowl XL, the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the first two games of the 2006 World Series.
Demographics
The first Europeans to colonize the Detroit area were French, and their legacy can be observed today in the names of many area cities (ex. Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Ile) and streets (ex. Gratiot, Beaubien, St. Antoine, Cadieux). Later, there was an influx of persons of British and German descent, followed later by Polish, Irish, Italian, Lebanese, Greek, Jewish, and Belgian immigrants who made their way to the city during the early 20 century and during World War II. There was also a large migration into the city of African-Americans from the rural South following World War I. As in most large cities, there were distinct neighborhoods and even cities (Hamtramck was predominantly Polish, for example) dominated by the various ethnic groups.
Today, the Detroit suburbs in Oakland County, Macomb County, and northeastern and northwestern Wayne County are predominantly white. Oakland County is among the most affluent counties in the United States. In Wayne County, the city of Dearborn has a large concentration of Arab Americans, mainly Lebanese. Recently, the area has witnessed some growth in Albanian American, Asian American and Hispanic populations. The southwest side of the city contains a large Chicano community, while significant populations of Chinese, Indian, Korean, Cambodian, Iranian, and Filipino ancestry are found in suburban communities in Oakland, Washtenaw, and western Wayne Counties.
The general areas of Bloomfield Hills/Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, and Rochester are known to be the most affluent areas of Metro Detroit.
Of the African-Americans who live in the area, about 70% live within the Detroit city limits. Other communities with large black populations include Inkster, Highland Park, Ecorse, River Rouge, Southfield, Pontiac and Oak Park. The Michigan Chronicle, the state's largest black-owned newspaper, is based in Detroit. The Michigan Citizen is another paper which targets African American readers.
Area codes
Metro Detroit is served by eight telephone area codes (nine if Windsor is included). The 313 area code, which used to encompass all of Southeast Michigan, has been narrowed to the city of Detroit and a few close suburbs.
- The 248 area code along with the newer 947 area code overlay mostly serve Oakland County.
- Macomb County is largely served by 586.
- Genesee, St. Clair, and Lapeer counties, as well as eastern Livingston County are covered by 810.
- Washtenaw, Monroe, and western Wayne are in the 734 area.
Transportation
Major airports
Major highways
The Metro Detroit area is criss-crossed by several major Interstate highways and freeways.
Traditionally, Detroiters referred to their freeways by name rather than route number. Today, the Davison, Lodge, and Southfield Freeways are almost always referred to by name rather than route number. Detroiters commonly precede freeway names with the word 'the' as in the Lodge, the Southfield, and the Davison. Those without names are referred to by number.
Other major roads
- 8 Mile Road, known by many due to the film 8 Mile, forms the dividing line between Detroit on the south and the suburbs of Macomb and Oakland counties on the north. It is also known as Baseline Road outside of Detroit, because it coincides with the baseline used in surveying Michigan; that baseline is also the boundary for a number of Michigan counties as well as the boundary for Illinois and Wisconsin. Designated as M-102 for much of its length in Wayne County.
- Gratiot Avenue (M-3) is a major road that runs from Port Huron to downtown Detroit.
- Jefferson Avenue is a scenic highway that runs parallel to the shore of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. It is also the principal thoroughfare for the Grosse Pointes, where it is called Lake Shore Drive. Another important dividing line between Detroit and the city of Grosse Pointe Park is Alter Road, where portions of some intersecting streets have been reconfigured or walled-off in order to thwart vehicular and pedestrian movement from Detroit into Grosse Pointe Park.
- Michigan Avenue/US 12 runs from downtown Detroit through the western suburbs toward Ypsilanti, passes south of Ann Arbor, and eventually reaches Chicago, Illinois.
- Woodward Avenue (M-1) is considered the Detroit area's main thoroughfare. It is the dividing line between the East Side and the West Side. Woodward stretches from downtown Pontiac to the Detroit River near Hart Plaza. In Downtown Detroit, the Fox Theatre and Detroit Institute of Arts are located on Woodward as well as the Detroit Zoo just outside of the city. The Woodward Dream Cruise, a classic car cruise from Pontiac to Ferndale is held in August and is the largest single day classic car cruise in America.
- Telegraph Road (US 24) is a major north-south road extending from Toledo, Ohio through Monroe, Wayne, and Oakland Counties to Pontiac. It has gained notoriety in a song (Telegraph Road) by the group Dire Straits.
- Dixie Highway or (Dix-Toledo) is one of America's historic highways. Its eastern division extended from Miami, FL to Sault Ste. Marie, MI. The remnants of this highway exist northbound and southbound through the Detroit metropolitan area.
- Fort Street (M-85) is the only Michigan highway in Downriver.It extends from Flat Rock to Detroit.
- Grand River Avenue connects the suburbs of Brighton, Novi, and Farmington to downtown Detroit. It is one of the 5 roads planned by Judge August Woodward to radiate out from Detroit and connect the city to other parts of the state.
Mile roads
Surface street navigation in Metro Detroit is commonly anchored by "mile roads", major east-west surface streets that are spaced at one-mile intervals and increment as one travels north and away from the city center. Mile roads sometimes have two names, the numeric name (ex. 15 Mile Road) used in Macomb County and a local name (ex. Maple Road) used in Oakland County mostly.
Mass transit
Please see articles: Detroit People Mover, Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART).
Education
- Ave Maria College, Ypsilanti
- Cleary University, Ann Arbor and Howell
- College for Creative Studies, Detroit
- Concordia University, Ann Arbor
- Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills
- Davenport University
- Dorsey Business School
- Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti
- Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn
- Kettering University, Flint
- Lawrence Technological University, Southfield
- Macomb Community College, Warren and Clinton Township
- Madonna University, Livonia
- Marygrove College, Detroit
- Michigan State University, Troy
- Monroe County Community College, Monroe
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- Mott Community College, Flint
- Northwood University
- Oakland Community College
- Oakland University, Rochester
- Rochester College, Rochester Hills
- Schoolcraft College, Livonia
- Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts, Southfield
- Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit
- SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake
- University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- University of Michigan–Dearborn
- University of Michigan-Flint
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Auburn Hills
- Walsh College of Accountancy and Business, Troy
- Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor
- Wayne County Community College,
- Wayne State University, Detroit
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Notable high schools
- Cass Technical High School
- Cranbrook Kingswood School
- Detroit Country Day School
- International Academy, Bloomfield Hills
- Detroit Catholic Central High School, Novi, Michigan
- De La Salle Collegiate High School, Warren, Michigan
- University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, Detroit, Michigan
- Greenhills School
- Grosse Pointe South High School, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
- Henry Ford Academy, Dearborn, Michigan
- Mercy High School, Farmington Hills, Michigan
- Southfield Christian School (Southfield, Michigan)
- Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory High School
- Arts Academy in the Woods- Warren, Michigan, now Fraser, Michigan
- Regina High School (Michigan) — Harper Woods, Michigan, now Warren, Michigan
- The Jean and Samuel Frankel Jewish Academy, West Bloomfield, Michigan
See also
- Images of metropolitan Detroit
External links
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