Small Town
Like the feeling of active, growing small towns? The Detroit metro area has dozens of them. In 2009, CNN Money magazine listed the 100 top small towns in America (8,500 to 50,000 population), judged on a number of criteria. Five of the 100 were in Michigan, and three from the metro Detroit area: Grosse Isle, Plymouth and Rochester. Within a 30-mile radius of downtown Detroit, there are numerous small towns, each with its own unique atmosphere and culture.
- How far from the foot of Woodward in downtown Detroit? Grosse Pointe, 8 miles; Birmingham, 19 miles; Troy, 20 miles; Grosse Isle, 25 miles; Plymouth and Rochester, 26 miles.
- Each small town has its own history, architecture and collection of unique businesses. Many towns date back to the early 17th century.
- Most towns have their own events, festivals, parades and other unique things that draw visitors. Some have become well-known from well outside the metro area: The Armada Fair, the Belleville National Strawberry Festival, Dearborn’s Arab-American International Festival, the Hamtramck Metro Times Blowout, Holly’s Renaissance Festival, Milford Memories, the Northville Victorian Festival, Plymouth’s Art in the Park and International Ice Sculpture Spectacular, Royal Oak’s Arts, Beats & Eats, Rochester’s Arts and Apples Festival, and Romeo’s Peach Festival are just a partial list of area events.
- Royal Oak and Mt. Clemens are particularly known for their restaurants and nightlife.
- Ann Arbor, though not technically a small town, has the state’s largest art fair as well as an annual Folk Festival.
The many small communities that make up the Detroit metropolitan area are a source of extremely positive energy and growth in southeast Michigan, yet most of the media from outside the area seem to focus on the “urban decay” angle time and time again. Too bad. They’re missing what’s really going on.
But from the standpoint of protecting and developing a positive image, I think we residents, and businesses, could do a whole lot better job communicating the real picture. We need to be more proactive, not reactive. We would benefit in many ways.
David Barnas 07/13/2010
Hi Bob,
Well done! Nice, thoughtful piece on the many ‘small town’ communities that make up the Metro Detroit area. I couldn’t agree more. In addition, you could easily include Ferndale, Berkely and many others to the list. They help make the area a pleasant place to live, work, and raise a family!
Cheers,
David Barnas
GM Communications
Dr. Brad Orville 07/13/2010
And do not forget the metro-Detroit metropolis of Clawson, Michigan with a 4th of July Parade and Celebration since the 1930’s. The community involvement and volunteerism in our small (3 sq. mi.) “little city with a big heart” is awesome and is the reason that many who grew up there return to raise their families. As a “Buckeye” (a hairless nut), those who know me know I love Ohio but I am glad to have settled in Clawson, a small town of significance.
Bob E 07/13/2010
The list of cities was only a small sampling at best. Clawson is a great place. In fact, we were once headquartered there, and they gave us the keys to the city…dump. (At least we got something).
sandra 07/13/2010
I’ve always loved small towns, which were pushed out by the Suburban sprawl and in the last 10-13 years have been rebuilding themselves back into the charming towns they once where and suburb’s are adding a downtown area.
Good movie to see on how suburbs where developed…
The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream
By Greg Greene
For myself I’ve always felt energized in Urban or Rural (small town – farmland/countryside) areas. Having grown up in a farmland area that turned into the worst example of a town, no urban/town planner in this town — Sterling Heights MI. Any good urban/town planner would know that all towns need a center point for community to engage with its community.
Having lived in major (downtown Detroit and Chicago) cities and it’s near by villages (Grosse Point MI to Oak Park IL) and a few years ago I moved out of downtown Chicago to a cottage area just 32 miles north of Chicago, which is at the edge of suburbia. This area is in the 2nd greenbelt (area that will never be built on) and has bike, hiking trails and parks everywhere, but it’s missing it’s community connection place, unless your consider a shopping mall your connection point.
Now that I’ve live at the edge of suburbia and got a real taste of it, my pre-perception of the ‘Suburbs’ is now a real conclusion… to me it’s feels like the land of the lost souls—the land between status quo and finding life’s passion.
Hurray for small towns that offer community events from outdoor café – festivals, so it’s public can connect with their neighbors.
sandra
Rhonda L. 07/28/2010
I’m a small town girl. I make it a point to frequent my neighborhood businesses! These are the people who help to build that sense of community. There are some great places in my community where people can congregate and get to know one another….it’s a good thing!