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The Forest and Urbanization
Dearborn is a suburb adjacent to Detroit in southeastern Michigan. The lower half of Michigan is part of the Great Lakes Forest region that was composed of oaks, hickories, sycamore, cottonwood, and silver maple. Late in the 19th century, Michigan became a national leader in the logging industry, exporting timber eastward along the Erie Canal while clearing the land for agriculture throughout much of the state. At the turn of the century, the auto industry caused a major surge in industrial development in Detroit, starting with Ford's first factory in Highland Park. Over the latter half of the 20th century, the automobile industry underwent major decentralization and became one of many factors that led to massive suburban flight from Detroit. The city has since lost about one half of its peak population of 2 million to the surrounding suburban areas, including Dearborn. The region is the most heavily urbanized area in the state of Michigan.. Currently, there is almost no evidence of the forest in that part of the state.
Office Park Growth in the Detroit Region
According to a recent study, Detroit had the lowest percentage of city office space out of thirteen American metropolitan regions studied.5 The suburbs, on the other hand, had the highest percentage of office space in the study, at 70%.
Fairlane in Dearborn
Examples from Fairlane
Reasons Behind the Fairlane Projects
Evaluations
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