Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
the growth boundary doesn't seem to be working all that well, because it's still pretty damn sprawly in the tweener zone along the I-94 corridor: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2449.../data=!3m1!1e3
for reference, here's what actual rural looks like in SE michigan (same scale): https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9451.../data=!3m1!1e3
what's more, the detroit and ann arbor UA's (as of 2010 definitions) directly abut each other for a run of 7.5 continuous miles. it's probably only matter of time before they merge. if not with the new 2020 definitions, then perhaps by 2030. |
Ann Arbor, Ypsi, and Western Wayne County have probably been sprawled together along I-94/Michigan Ave. for most of the last 80 years, given the Willow Run plant's importance in WW2.
But yeah, Washtenaw has a strict growth boundary, and, except where there was existing development, you from Ann Arbor city limits into woodlands or farmland. For example, Pontiac Trail is the main artery from Ann Arbor to the Metro Detroit favored quarter. It's completely rural as soon as you leave AA proper, and sprawl doesn't return until you hit 8 Mile/Oakland County.
The I-94 corridor is industrial and declined, and the least desirable part of Washtenaw-Wayne (excepting parts of Detroit and a few Detroit appendages like Highland Park).