What's a metro Detroiter?

Dear Metromode readers,

I'm excited to join you as Metromode's new managing editor.

As I get started on this challenge, I've been reflecting on the vastness of what we call "metro Detroit." It's a huge area. The three counties of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne encompass 2,150 square miles and 3.6 million people.

Nina IgnaczakWe have cities, towns, suburbs, coastlines, lakes, forests, trails and farmland. And the people who live here are as varied as the geography. We are young and old, of all races and religions and education levels and occupations. Many of our families have been here for generations; many others are first-generation immigrants.

And what an amazing diversity of places we can choose to call home.  Do you embrace the urban lifestyle in Detroit, Hamtramck or Pontiac? Are you a denizen of one of the hip suburbs like Ferndale or Royal Oak? An upscale town like Birmingham or the Grosse Pointes? A far-flung enclave like Clarkston or Rochester? Maybe you're a hardcore eastsider, calling St. Clair Shores or Roseville home. Perhaps you live in one of southeast Michigan's rural environs—Highland Township, Pinckney, or Ray Township.

Wherever you are, you're likely there for a good reason. Maybe it's where you grew up. Maybe it's close to your job; maybe you live there for the school system. Maybe you value affordable housing.  Maybe you want to be near a historic downtown, an urban neighborhood, or trails, woods, rivers, lakes. Maybe you're looking for a vibrant art scene and exciting nightlife. Or maybe you prefer a small-town feel with quiet streets.

All of these things and more are available to you in metro Detroit.

A little about me: I've lived in metro Detroit all my life. I was born an eastsider; I lived my first months in Detroit near Cadieux. I grew up in eastside suburbs; I spent my elementary years in St. Clair Shores and middle and high school years in Grosse Pointe Woods. I moved to Ann Arbor for college.

After school, when most of my friends left for the east and west coasts, I intentionally stuck around. My reason? I wanted my kids to know their grandparents. I think a lot of metro Detroiters feel that way. So my husband found a job in Auburn Hills, and I found a job in Pontiac. We landed in Rochester and have been here ever since.

If your experience is anything like mine, at some point in your life in metro Detroit someone has passed judgment on your choice of residence. You've heard it before; city-dwellers making fun of the suburbs, suburbanites "giving up" on the city, well-to-do suburbs doing everything they can to "keep out the riff-raff" and folks from working-class towns making snide remarks about well-to-do suburbs.

We metro Detroiters are experts at judging each other based on where we live. Sometimes it's all in good fun. Sometimes it's not. (And let's not even mention the whole issue of whether it's legit for suburbanites to rep Detroit.)

It shows in our demographics; we live in one of the most segregated regions in the nation.



It shows in our governance; metro Detroit has 134 autonomous local governments and even more school districts and other authorities.



And it shows in our regional infrastructure. Case-in-point: a patchwork of public transit options with uneven coverage and access.



But times change. Metro Detroit is taking big steps to address regional issues. In the last decade, we've adopted regional millages for the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts and created regional authorities to govern Cobo Hall, coordinate transit and run the water system. We are about to decide on a plan and a millage that would, for the first time, build regional transit this November. These are all significant steps forward and signs that for all our name-calling and finger-pointing, metro Detroiters are starting to realize that we are all in this together.

As Metromode's new managing editor, I'm looking forward to building on the efforts of my talented predecessors, Matt Lewis and Jeff Meyers, to create a space where we can explore those issues. I'm also excited to partner with Aaron Mondry, editor of our sister publication Model D, to collaborate on stories that intersect city and suburban interests. I'm fascinated by what divides us and unites us. I'm also interested in the stories of the unique and diverse people and places that make this region unlike anywhere else.

One thing I am fired up about is our new solutions journalism project. In partnership with Metro Matters and with support from the-the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, we've convened a group of emerging leaders from around the region to serve as an editorial advisory board. They will help to inform us on the critical issues facing our region and the solutions people are working on to address them. We'll bring these stories to you over the next ten months.

So please feel free to drop a line (or a tweet) anytime with your story idea, comment, or just a shout-out. This is your space, too.

I'd love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Nina Ignaczak
Managing Editor, Metromode
nina@metromodemedia.com
@ninaignaczak