Suggestion: Drive a stake through "Southeast Michigan"

**Orthophonic** · March-26-11, 07:06 PM

I have always found the phrase "Southeast Michigan" objectionable for several reasons. First, it is truly bland. Second, and more important in my estimation, it is used as a euphemism for the metropolitan Detroit area by people who don't want to associate themselves with Detroit or even utter the word Detroit [[except perhaps with a negative connotation). Third, it does not roll off the tongue with the euphony I seek.

Is there any reason to keep the S-word? [[the S-phrase?)

I suggest that it be overthrown, turned out, shunned, tarred and feathered, or some combination of all these.

A replacement? Nothing wrong with metro Detroit. Or [[horrors!) just plain Detroit.

Can somebody give me SEMCOG's number so I can preview the bad news to them?

Apologies if this has been previously discussed - I did not find it in a brief search of the archives.

**313WX** · March-26-11, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by Orthophonic

I have always found the phrase "Southeast Michigan" objectionable for several reasons. First, it is truly bland. Second, and more important in my estimation, it is used as a euphemism for the metropolitan Detroit area by people who don't want to associate themselves with Detroit or even utter the word Detroit [[except perhaps with a negative connotation). Third, it does not roll off the tongue with the euphony I seek.

Is there any reason to keep the S-word? [[the S-phrase?)

I suggest that it be overthrown, turned out, shunned, tarred and feathered, or some combination of all these.

A replacement? Nothing wrong with metro Detroit. Or [[horrors!) just plain Detroit.

Can somebody give me SEMCOG's number so I can preview the bad news to them?

Apologies if this has been previously discussed - I did not find it in a brief search of the archives.

I'm in complete agreement with you.

You don't see Boston calling itself "SE Massachusetts", you don't see Seattle calling itself "NW Washington", you don't see San Diego calling itself "SW California", you don't see Miami caling itself "SE Florida", you don't see Memphis calling itself "SW Tenesseee", and you sure as heck dont' see Chicago calling itself "NE Illinois."

Only in Detroit does this type of stuff happen.

**mwilbert** · March-26-11, 07:24 PM

I am all in favor of precision, but Southeast Michigan isn't any less precise than Metro Detroit. When I use Southeast Michigan I am usually referring to the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint CSA, but I suspect most people wouldn't know what that was.

**mwilbert** · March-26-11, 07:26 PM

You don't see Boston calling itself "SE Massachusetts"

Because it isn't. That would be Fall River/New Bedford or possibly Cape Cod. You do hear "Eastern Massachusetts" to mean Greater Boston.

**Jimaz** · March-26-11, 07:29 PM

Meh. Semantics.

**East Detroit** · March-26-11, 07:30 PM

Let's call it Southeast Pointe, just in case.

**English** · March-26-11, 07:32 PM

If it were anywhere but here, Ann Arbor would proudly state they were 45 minutes outside of Detroit. In no other metropolis is there such a divide between the city and everywhere else in its state.

**Barbara_10** · March-26-11, 08:33 PM

Hmmmm.....wonder why that is.

NorthEndere · March-26-11, 10:00 PM

Southeast Michigan is a geographical construct. If anything, it was included to include counties that weren't quite Metro Detroit, but tied closely enough to the region to count. Really, it's more inclusive than just about every term. How is it any different than "South Florida" which is used to refer to metropolitan Miami or SoCal/NoCal? I think you're reading into this something that doesn't exist, because people don't even use the term outside the state to identify where they are from.

I also think this idea that people are so anti-Detroit, now, is way, way, way overblown. Maybe even just ten years ago that would have been the case, but now when I see Metro Detroiters folks on television or even in just general conversation, they want to connect with the city more than ever. I don't here these folks correcting people that they are from Utica, or to give their location when talking to someone outside the state as Livonia.

**RO_Resident** · March-26-11, 10:18 PM

Actually, it was quite arbitrary that SEMCOG ended up being SEMCOG, and not the Detroit Region Council of Governments or some other moniker.

A little history, when the metropolitan planning process got off the ground 40+ years ago, some agencies went for the metro approach [[DRCOG, the Denver Region Council of Governments), other agencies linked by some natural feature [[Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for the Philadelphia, Trenton, and Camden area). For a list, see: http://www.abag.ca.gov/abag/other_gov/rcg.html .

When Michigan was broken into planning regions, they generally went with names based on their compass direction rather than the central city.

The planning regions in Michigan:
SEMCOG
Region II Planning Commission
Southcentral Planning Council
Southwestern Michigan Commission
GLS Region V
Tri-County
East Central Michigan Planning
West Michigan Regional Planning
Northeast Michigan COG
Northwest Michigan COG
Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning
Central Upper Peninsula Planning
Western Upper Peninsula Planning
West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission

**skyl4rk** · March-27-11, 08:39 AM

Call the region: Bloomfield Hills

**DetroitPlanner** · March-27-11, 09:56 AM

How did you find this page on the internet if you can't even figure out how to find SEMCOG's telephone number?

Would you be happy if Denver's COG gave up DRCOG so we can have it? Maybe we can use what Dallas uses? NCTCOG? [[North Central Texas)

Lets look at 313's examples:

Boston is Boston Region MPO
Seattle is called Pugent Sound Regional Council
San Diego is SANDAG
Miami is Miami-DadeMemphis is MemphisMPO
Chicago was CATS, now its CMAP after it joined with North East Illinois Regional Council.

Some contain the major cities name and some do not.

Sometimes I think folks have too much time on thier hands. Why complain about things that are petty?

We have more important things to worry about around here.

**Dbest** · March-27-11, 10:07 AM

DetroitPlanner: go devise a solution to solve the city's problems[[that doesn't involve Robocop) and stop hassling people who post topics. I agree the Southeast Michigan tag is so vanilla. Do we need to go back down this route again? You know the one that is put to bed when the question of what area of the US or Michigan you are from when meeting someone on vacation etc.. Its not Southeast Michigan anybody is going to recognize when refering to the "Detroit Met" area.... IMO..

**coracle** · March-27-11, 10:19 AM

I agree with you. I've lived in the suburbs for more that 30 years and I don't think I've ever used the "Southeast Michigan" term to explain where I live. If I'm with someone that I don't think would be impressed to know I lived in Detroit I give them the "Oh, about 35 miles NW of Detroit:" which i think is just far enough away to be out of it but still claim it. On the other hand if I want to impress I give them the straight "Detroit" with a bit of a swagger and a worldly kinda look indicating I know my way about.

**laphoque** · March-27-11, 02:16 PM

Nah I agree that it's just a way of naming geography in Michigan.

Some examples:

Up North
The UP
Northeast Michigan
Northern Lower Michigan
The west side
Mid Michigan.

Southeast Michigan is just like those.

Anyway, the Yoopers say everything below the bridge is Detroit.

**Fnemecek** · March-27-11, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Orthophonic

I have always found the phrase "Southeast Michigan" objectionable for several reasons.

Whether or not it's objectionable, in my opinion, depends on the geographic area that one is referring to. I generally consider "metro Detroit" to include only Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. "Southeast Michigan", in contrast, includes Ann Arbor, Flint, Monroe, Port Huron, and such.

**Fnemecek** · March-27-11, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by laphoque

Anyway, the Yoopers say everything below the bridge is Detroit.

Similarly, folks in Grand Rapids tend to regard everything east of Lansing as Detroit.

**Detroitnerd** · March-28-11, 08:41 AM

I think a lot of it has to do with marketing. I was working on a publishing project once, and it was to be about metro Detroit. But the advertising salespeople said, "Please, don't use the word Detroit. If you do, we won't be able to sell to Ann Arbor."

So, I guess I'm going to have to say that the intention of saying "southeast Michigan" is often to avoid mentioning Detroit at all. Yet another reason we are going down the tubes as a region...

**Orthophonic** · March-28-11, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

I think a lot of it has to do with marketing. I was working on a publishing project once, and it was to be about metro Detroit. But the advertising salespeople said, "Please, don't use the word Detroit. If you do, we won't be able to sell to Ann Arbor."

So, I guess I'm going to have to say that the intention of saying "southeast Michigan" is often to avoid mentioning Detroit at all. Yet another reason we are going down the tubes as a region...

I think the next time I hear someone say it, I will pretend not to understand. Then, slowly, the light bulb over my head will come on [[off-brand fluorescent) and I will say, "oh, you mean Detroit! Well, why didn't you say so?"

Perhaps instead of SEMCOG I should have suggested we start with Junior Achievement of SE Michigan.

**Yooper** · March-28-11, 04:14 PM

That any town in the lower peninsula is considered Northern Michigan is just another misnomer.

**English** · March-28-11, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

I think a lot of it has to do with marketing. I was working on a publishing project once, and it was to be about metro Detroit. But the advertising salespeople said, "Please, don't use the word Detroit. If you do, we won't be able to sell to Ann Arbor."

I've heard this as well during my years in Ann Arbor.

**canuck** · March-28-11, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Barbara_10

Hmmmm.....wonder why that is.

Because the world is filled with Barbaras?

NorthEndere · March-28-11, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Yooper

That any town in the lower peninsula is considered Northern Michigan is just another misnomer.

Funny, from how I grew up "Northern Michigan" or "Up North" was always at least the northern part of the Lower Peninsula [[usually Clare to the Bridge), but it also could include that region as well as in conjunction with the UP, but never to mean just the UP.

The UP was always specifically named when someone was going up that way.