Originally Posted by
professorscott
One big problem in metro Detroit is the number of municipal governments, which creates a costly and overly parochial approach to government. For instance, let's look at Detroit and its northern suburbs compared to DC and its Virginia suburbs. I looked at two Google maps, one centered in downtown Royal Oak, Michigan and one centered in Fairfax County, Virginia, at the same "zoom level". This is what I found.
Google Map at 2 Mile zoom level, centered on downtown Royal Oak
3 Counties:
Wayne County
Oakland County
Macomb County
27 Municipalities:
Detroit
Ferndale
Pleasant Ridge
Hazel Park
Oak Park
Madison Heights
Berkley
Royal Oak
Clawson
Franklin
Beverly Hills
Birmingham
Troy
Bloomfield Township
West Bloomfield Township
Farmington
Sterling Heights
Harper Woods
Eastpointe
Royal Oak Township
Highland Park
Roseville
Fraser
Warren
Center Line
Redford
Livonia
Google map at 2 mile zoom level, centered at US 50 and VA 28 in Fairfax County, VA
4 Counties:
Arlington County
Fairfax County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
5 Municipalities:
Alexandria
Manassas
Manassas Park
Falls Church
Fairfax