Westland, Michigan

Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located about 16 mi west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 84,094.

Politics
The current mayor of Westland is William (Bill) Wild. During his first term as President of the Westland City Council, Mr. Wild was appointed as mayor after Mayor Sandra A. Cicirelli was elected as judge of the 18th District Court in November 2006. Mr. Wild took office in January 2007 and continues to serve as mayor.

In the judicial branch of government, the Honorable Sandra A. Ference Cicirelli and the Honorable Mark A. McConnell. Cicirelli has served all three branches of government in the City of Westland. She has not only been a lawyer, but has helped lead the city as Council President, Mayor, and currently Judge.

The legislative body of Westland is the City Council, which contains seven members. The current President of the City Council is James Godbout.

In addition to Mr. Godbout, Michael Kherer, William(Bill) Johnson and Dewey Reeves, the three newest members are Christine Cicirelli Bryant, Mariem Kadi, and Adam Hammons, recently elected as of November, 2009. Several members' terms were ending, and therefore Charles Pikering, Robert Stottlemeyer, & Cheryl Graunstadt stepped down from their positions. Ranking in the following order for the election, Cicirelli Bryant, Reeves,Kadi, then Hammons, they will all serve a four year term duration with the exception of Hammons, with a two year term.

Early history
During the 18th century, the area was inhabited by the people of a Pottawatomi Indian village. Other tribes, particularly three Algonquian tribes, used the area as hunting territory.

Before becoming "Westland," the area had several other names. Though white settlers did not begin to settle the area until about 1824, they began to arrive at the beginning of the 19th century.

Bucklin Township was first organized in 1827 and included what is now the cities of Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township.

By an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature, October 20, 1829, Bucklin was divided into Lima and Richland Townships. However, due to a naming conflict under postal regulations at that time, Lima was renamed as Nankin Township, after the Chinese city Nanking, and Richland as Pekin Township, named after Peking, though Pekin became Redford Township in 1833.

In 1835, Livonia Township was split off from Nankin. Wayne incorporated as a village in 1869 and as a city in 1960. Garden City incorporated as a village in 1927 and as a city in 1933. Inkster incorporated as a village in 1926 and as a city in 1964.

Nankin Mills (located at 33175 Ann Arbor Trail) was built in 1842 as a grist mill and used by area farmers who once farmed this area. In 1916, Henry Ford purchased the mill and restored it as as part of his Village Industries project devised as a way to allow farmers to work in the growing auto industry without having to move off their farms. Once restored, the mill was used to make stencils for Ford Motor Company. The automaker eventually sold the mill to Wayne County, and the historic building is now home to Wayne County Parks houses an interpretive center with exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the area and also hosts community events.

The Norwayne subdivision is one of the oldest areas of the city, having existed for over 65 years. The area was built immediately after World War II to provide temporary housing for returning soldiers who worked in nearby factories. Presently, Norwayne is an area that has long been neglected and includes substandard multi-unit duplexes and four-plexes in various degrees of disarray. Please see the Norwayne Google Map for a list of primary rental owners along with the district border and schools. In late 2009 the City of Westland received $2.061 million to radically clean up, restore and rehabilitate this historic district. This is through Stimulus/Recovery funds and was allocated under the NSP - Neighborhood Stabilization Program of 2008. Please see the City of Westland Development for additional details. This project is expected to be completed by 2013 and was highlighted in the 2009 State of the City mayoral address.

Later history
By 1960, Nankin's population had increased to 70,000, giving the area the distinction of being the world's largest township. During the early 1960s, the city of Livonia wanted to annex the part of Nankin in which a large shopping mall, Westland Shopping Center, was to be built. The shopping center eventually opened in 1965, joining Northland, Southland and Eastland malls in other Detroit Metro cities. In reaction to Livonia's annexation attempts, the people of Nankin voted to change the remainder of the township as a city on May 16, 1966 to the City of Westland. At that time, it was the fourth largest city in Wayne County.

Education
Westland and the city of Wayne formed the Wayne-Westland Community School District. There are four high schools, John Glenn, Tinkham Center, and William D. Ford Career Tech Center and Wayne Memorial in Wayne. Nearly all students that live in the City of Wayne go to Wayne Memorial, along with some residents of the cities of Belleville, Inkster, Romulus and southern Westland. Students in Central Westland, and portions of Northern Westland, as well as isolated areas of neighboring Inkster and Canton attend John Glenn High school. The northernmost portions of Westland are in the Livonia Public Schools school district.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.5 square miles (53.0 km²), of which, 20.5 square miles (53.0 km²) of it is land and 0.0 square miles (0.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.05% water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 86,602 people, 36,533 households, and 22,248 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,234.9 per square mile (1,635.1/km²). There were 38,077 housing units at an average density of 1,862.0 per square mile (718.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.21% White, 6.77% African American, 0.46% Native American, 2.81% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 2.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.47% of the population.

There were 36,533 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,308, and the median income for a family was $55,323. Males had a median income of $45,111 versus $30,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,615. About 4.7% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

As of census 2010 the population of Westland was 84,094. The ethnic and racial composition was 73.5% Non-Hispanic white, 17.2% African-American, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.2% Non-Hispanic some other race, 2.4% Two or more races and 3.8% Hispanic or Latino.

City services
Westland has a full time Police and Fire Department. The Fire Department offers advanced EMS, fire protection and prevention, and several specialized rescue teams.

The Westland Public Library offers users books, magazines, CDs, playaways, videos, DVDs and electronic materials through access to subscription databases.