This is an interesting discussion but there is an air of unreality about it.

I have seen metropolitan style government in other places, and no doubt it has its benefits. However, the Detroit area has precisely as much chance of becoming a unigovernment metro region as I have of becoming Pope.

Look, so many things are working against it: Michigan's unflagging insistence on home rule, the carcinogenic racism that continues to pile-drive our economy and liveliness, the institutionalized corruption of so many municipal agencies. Imagine someone in Livonia or Rochester Hills waking up and finding that there was to be a tri-county municipal government! To paraphrase other posts, they would leave scorch marks on the pavement on their way to One Million Mile Road.

Since you can't force people to live in your Unigoverned Greater Metro Detroit Regional Thingy, and there's not exactly a huge supply of jobs keeping people here, such a thing [[if it were even possible, which it's not) would just drive more people to move to Atlanta or Indianapolis or San Diego or Vancouver or wherever the hell everybody is moving to nowadays.

If I'm wrong, no prob; come visit me in the Vatican and we'll do lunch.

The Prof.