East Lansing, Michigan

East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from 46,420 at the 2000 census. It is best known as the home of Michigan State University.

History
The settlement of East Lansing began around 1847, the same year nearby Lansing was made the capital of the state of Michigan. Downtown East Lansing was an important junction of two major Native American trails: the Okemah Road, and the Park Lake Trail. By 1850, the Lansing and Howell Plank Road Company was established to connect a toll road to the Detroit and Howell Plank Road, improving travel between Detroit and Lansing, which cut right through what is now East Lansing. The toll road was finished in 1853, and included seven tollhouses between Lansing and Howell.

Michigan State University was founded in 1855 and established in what is now East Lansing in 1857. For the first four decades, the students and faculty lived almost entirely on the College campus. A few commuted from Lansing, and that number increased when a streetcar line was built in the 1890s, but there were few places to live in the then-rural area immediately around the campus.

That started to change in 1887, when professors William J. Beal and Rolla C. Carpenter created Collegeville, along what is now Harrison Road and Center and Beal Streets, north of Michigan Avenue. Few faculty were attracted to the location, and the first residents were "teamsters and laborers". In 1898, the College Delta subdivision (including what is now Delta Street) had the support of the College itself, which provided utilities, and several professors built homes there (one of which survives today at 243 W. Grand River Ave.). Other subdivisions followed.

At that time, the post office address was "Agricultural College, Michigan". A school district encompassing the nascent community was created in 1900. In 1907, incorporation as a city was proposed under the name "College Park"; the legislature approved the charter but changed the name to "East Lansing". The first seven mayors, starting with Clinton D. Smith in 1907 and Warren Babcock in 1908, were professors or employees of the College.

The city charter in 1907 prohibited the possession, sale, or consumption of alcoholic beverages, and East Lansing was a "dry" city until voters modified the charter provision in 1968.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.66 square miles (35.37 km²), of which, 13.59 square miles (35.19 km²) of it is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km²) is water, as of 2010.

Since 1998, East Lansing has expanded its borders through the use of 425 Agreements. The city is currently in three 425 Agreements with Bath Township, DeWitt Township, and Meridian Township, and has effectively added thousands of acres of land to its border.


 * East Lansing and DeWitt Township entered into two 425's in 1998 and 2001, which involved nearly 1200 acre of land. The agreement stipulates that East Lansing gains full control of the land after 33 years.
 * East Lansing and Bath Township entered into a 425 Agreement in June 2002 involving 1056 acre of land. The agreement stipulates that East Lansing gains full control of the land after 100 years.
 * East Lansing and Meridian Township entered into a 425 Agreement in November 2002 involving 101 acre of land. The agreement stipulates that the Meridian Township residents get to decide the fate of the land after 100 years.

The city has also made use of annexation of surrounding township lands in recent years. It annexed the 66.5 acre of the Four Winds Golf Course in Meridian Township in 2001, and another 6 acre of the township in 2006. The city also annexed from DeWitt Township the land that is currently the East Lansing Soccer Complex. As of 2006, East Lansing has increased its size to 13.25 sqmi.

Description
The city's downtown area is centered around Grand River Avenue, a wide tree-lined boulevard that evolved out of the 19th century plank road that connected Lansing to Detroit. Grand River Avenue serves as dividing line between the Michigan State University campus and the rest of the city. The street is lined with many college-oriented businesses, such as bars, tanning salons, coffee shops, head shops, restaurants (many dine al fresco) and bookstores. Immediately north of downtown are predominantly student neighborhoods. Further north of that is the residential part of the city, which is much like any other suburb. At the very northern tier of the city are several new housing subdivisions and student-oriented apartment complexes. These new developments are far from the university, but their lower property tax rates allow them to offer students more amenities for their monthly rent.

Neighborhoods
East Lansing has more than 25 neighborhoods, many of which have neighborhood associations that sponsor social events, attend to neighborhood issues, and often advocate for neighborhood interests in meetings of the City Council and city commissions.

A section of the city has been designated a Historic District, and a Historic District Commission has been established by the City Council. In addition, many landmark structures in the older neighborhoods have been identified within a Landmark Structures Historic District of the Historic Preservation Code.

Demographics
As of 2009, there were 45,563 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 46,525 people, 14,390 households, and 5,094 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,136.6 per square mile (1,596.7/km²). There were 15,321 housing units at an average density of 1,362.2 per square mile (525.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.91% White, 7.40% African American, 0.33% Native American, 8.21% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.69% of the population.

There were 14,390 households out of which 16.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.6% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.6% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 9.0% under the age of 18, 58.6% from 18 to 24, 16.4% from 25 to 44, 9.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,217, and the median income for a family was $61,985 (these figures had risen to $29,885 and $81,941 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $43,767 versus $30,556 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,333. About 11.0% of families and 34.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government
East Lansing has a council-manager government, where the city council appoints one of its own as mayor, and another of its own as mayor pro tem — a city council member with extra ceremonial duties, but who chairs council meetings in the mayor's absence. The city council consists of 5 at-large council members who are elected in non-partisan elections to 4-year terms in November of odd-numbered years. The city council chooses the city manager, the city's chief administrative officer. The manager is appointed by, and answers to, the city council.

An important aspect of East Lansing's government is its system of commissions. The commission members are ordinary East Lansing citizens who are appointed by the city council and advised by members of the city staff. Commissions may propose or review policies in their bailiwicks and make recommendations to the city council. Major East Lansing commissions include those for Planning, Housing, Transportation, and Parks and Recreation. Other commissions and boards that also involve active engagement of ordinary citizens play a role in East Lansing's governance.

East Lansing Government founded the Technology Innovation Center, an incubator for technology start-ups.

Higher education
Michigan State University, a member of the Big Ten Conference, is the largest education institution in the State of Michigan (8th largest in the United States), reflecting East Lansing's history as a college town. MSU has more than 200 programs of study including two in human medicine (M.D. and D.O.) and one veterinary medicine school (D.V.M.), a law school, and numerous PhD programs. There is also a Master of Arts in Educational Technology(MAET) program.

Nearby Lansing is home to several other colleges, including Thomas M. Cooley Law School which is the largest law school in the United States (by attendees), Davenport University, and Lansing Community College.

Primary and secondary schools
This city is covered by the East Lansing Public Schools district, which has an enrollment of just over 3,400 students in grades K-12. The district also includes small portions of neighboring Lansing, Lansing Township, and Meridian Township. The district consists of six elementary schools, one middle school (MacDonald Middle School), and East Lansing High School. One fifth of the district's students come from outside of East Lansing through Michigan's Schools of Choice program.

Transportation
Amtrak, Indian Trails, and Greyhound all provide intercity rail and bus services at the East Lansing Amtrak depot, which is located at 1240 South Harrison Road in walking distance from the Michigan State University main campus, although both on- and off-campus public transportation serves the depot. Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) provides public bus transit throughout East Lansing, Lansing, and surrounding areas. Three major interstates and one U.S. Highway serve the East Lansing area including: I-96, I-69, I-496, and US 127. The Capital Region International Airport in nearby Lansing offers a number of non-stop domestic and international flights as far as Cancún and Las Vegas; connections between East Lansing and the airport are offered by CATA (with a transfer in downtown Lansing); rental cars are also available at the airport. Bus transportation is offered between East Lansing and Jackson, Ann Arbor, and Detroit Metro Airport eight times daily by Michigan Flyer. The Northern Tier Trail is a shared-use pedestrian and bicycle path system connecting some parts of the northern half of the city; the Lansing River Trail begins on the campus of Michigan State University and extends west into downtown Lansing and then north towards the airport. Finally, two class one freight railroads serve East Lansing including Canadian National Railway (CN) and CSX Transportation (CSXT).

Interstate highways

 * I-69.svg I-69 runs from Indianapolis, along the northern boundary of East Lansing, and east to Flint and Port Huron, connecting to Canada.
 * Business Loop 69.svg I-69 Business Loop, or BL I-69, is a loop route running through Lansing and East Lansing.

US highways

 * US 127.svg US 127 is a north-south highway passing between Lansing and East Lansing, continuing northerly toward Clare and Grayling and southerly toward Jackson, Michigan and into Ohio.

Michigan state trunklines

 * M-43.svg M-43 (Saginaw Street/Grand River Avenue)
 * M-99.svg M-99 (Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.)
 * M-143.svg M-143 (Michigan Avenue, an unsigned route between M-43 and the Lansing city limit)

Culture


The city has several neighborhoods of detached, single-family houses within a mile of the Michigan State University campus. Under a 2004 city zoning ordinance, several of those neighborhoods have used a petition process to establish zones that prohibit or severely restrict renting. The net size of the area where renting is prohibited has increased since 2004.

East Lansing has a very large student population; in 2006 the city's population was about 45,931, while the university's 2006-07 enrollment was 45,520. Granted, all students enrolled do not live in East Lansing or on campus.

Michigan State University has the reputation of having a very passionate fan base. Spartans followers have attracted notoriety with public celebrations that periodically erupt throughout the year. The celebrations are often associated with the mens basketball team's perennially deep runs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, such as an incident in 1999 in which students and visitors rioted after a loss to Duke University in the NCAA Final Four. Although generally peaceful, the East Lansing police department has sometimes responded to those events with force, invoking emergency powers and hiring extra police from neighboring jurisdictions to clear streets.

Sports
From March 29 to April 2, 2006, East Lansing hosted the USA Hockey National Tournament. The age group that competed contained players from the U-14 Tier 2 division. States were represented with teams from Massachusetts, Michigan, Alaska, Nebraska, Florida, California, Connecticut, Indiana, New York,and Pennsylvania. In the end, The LA Hockey Club representing California won.

Centennial
In 2007, the City of East Lansing celebrated its Centennial. The celebration began in January 2007 with a kick-off press conference at the Marriott Hotel in downtown East Lansing. Events throughout the year included an old fashion concert, a birthday party, and a historic homes tour. A fireworks show took place in August, along with many more events throughout the year. With Michigan State University's Sesquicentennial ice cream flavor such a huge success, the City of East Lansing contracted Melting Moments ice cream shop to develop a Centennial ice cream flavor. All downtown businesses were encouraged to take part in Centennial festivities. The Peoples Church on West Grand River Avenue also celebrated its 100th birthday in 2007.

Residents were asked to submit their favorite stories, pictures and memories on the Centennial website, which includes photographs dating back to the early 1900s. The website lists all Centennial events and includes a complete history of the city. Fun East Lansing facts can also be found, along with a list of famous East Lansing residents. Michigan State University and the City of East Lansing partnered on many of the events.

On campus

 * W. J. Beal Botanical Garden which is the oldest botanical garden in the United States.
 * Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens
 * Beaumont Tower
 * Red Cedar River
 * Wharton Center for the Performing Arts (Great Hall and Pasant Theatre), the Fairchild Theatre, and the MSU Auditorium (Main Stage and Arena Theater).
 * Abrams Planetarium and the MSU Observatory
 * Spartan Stadium
 * Breslin Center
 * MSU Forest Akers Golf Courses
 * MSU Pavilion
 * MSU Federal Credit Union, the largest university-based credit union in the world.
 * CATA Bus Station
 * Sparty is the nickname of The Spartan, a large statue representing the MSU mascot, a Spartan warrior. "Sparty" is frequently used as a landmark when giving directions on campus.
 * The Rock is a large boulder, approximately five feet high, originally placed near Beaumont Tower by the Class of 1873, since relocated to a site northeast of the Farm Lane Bridge. It serves as a venue for student groups and is routinely graffitied by those groups.

Off campus

 * Hannah Community Center (built as East Lansing High School, and later used as a middle school) with the White Performing Arts Theatre.
 * East Lansing Public Library
 * The "Habitrail", or Hamster Cage, or Gerbil Cage, is a large multicolored parking structure near campus that resembles a Habitrail home for pet rodents. The controversial design resulted from the city's instructions to the architect that the building be "festive" and have "no brick".
 * Scene metrospace, the city sponsored art gallery located in the ground floor of the multicolored parking structure.
 * East Lansing Family Aquatic Center
 * Trowbridge railroad junction (located near Trowbridge Road) and the nearby Amtrak depot are popular spots with railfans for train watching. At Trowbridge, the busy Grand Trunk Western Railroad line connecting Chicago to Toronto intersects the former Pere Marquette Railroad (now Conrail line from Detroit to Grand Rapids).
 * El Azteco, a local Mexican restaurant noted for its outdoor rooftop dining. El Azteco is one of East Lansing's longest-lasting establishments, celebrating its 30th anniversary in August 2006. Many older MSU alumni remember when it was located under Campbell's Smoke Shop on M.A.C., but in 1991 the restaurant moved to its present location at 215 Ann St. Arturo Santa Cruz is the owner. El Azteco has employed some people of note, including State Representative Fred Miller and NPR journalist Sarah Hulett.

Outside East Lansing

 * The city of Lansing is adjacent to East Lansing. Lansing has, among other things, the State Capitol, Hall of Justice (Supreme Court), and Michigan Library and Historical Center. Thomas M. Cooley Law School, the nation's largest law school, is located in downtown Lansing.  Lansing also is the home of the Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball team.  There is a historic City Market in downtown Lansing, next to the Grand River, which has the distinct taste and flair of Europe.
 * Lake Lansing is nearby and is approximately 500 acres (2 km²) in size. The lake has an outstanding beach, and is a summer favorite of swimmers, sunbathers, boaters and fishermen. The Lansing Sailing Club and Michigan State University Sailing Club have facilities on Lake Lansing where sailing regattas are held throughout the summer months.
 * Meridian Mall in the suburb of Okemos.

Newspapers

 * The State News
 * Lansing State Journal
 * NOISE
 * City Pulse
 * Spartan Edge

Local events

 * The East Lansing Film Festival is the largest festival of its kind in Michigan.
 * East Lansing Art Festival is a juried art show held each spring, on the weekend before Memorial Day. In 2009 it received a national ranking in the Art Fair SourceBook Top 200 for its fine art and craft sales. "With its 117th fine art ranking and 153rd fine craft ranking, the festival was included among a list of the top 200 best-selling art fairs and festivals in the country. These rankings are based on the festival’s gross average sales for 2009, which totaled $2,857 per artist exhibitor".
 * Great Lakes Folk Festival originated after The National Folk Festival, which made East Lansing its home for 3 years, moved to a new city for another 3 years. The festival is usually held during the last weekend of August.
 * The Michigan High School Boys State Basketball Championship tournament is typically held at Michigan State University's Breslin Center each March.
 * The 2007 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals occurred at Michigan State University.
 * The 2009 Future Problem Solvers International Conference was held in East Lansing.
 * The Children's Concert held at East Lansing Hannah Community Center, is an annual series of live music geared for young audiences and their families.
 * The Crystal Awards honors the extraordinary accomplishments of individuals, businesses and organizations that have impacted the quality of life in East Lansing.
 * Summer Solstice Jazz Festival is a two day festival that salutes jazz music with local and national jazz performers and celebrates the longest day of the year.
 * The Summer Concert Series features live local music each Friday and Saturday in Downtown East Lansing.
 * The Moonlight Film Festival offers free movies on a outdoor big screen in Valley Court Park in downtown East Lansing.
 * One Book One Community is a unique program that brings the city-university community together to read the same book and come together to discuss it in a variety of settings.
 * The Winter Bowl Soup & Chili Cook-off combines holiday activities, musical entertainment, merchant activities and a old fashioned soup and chili cook-off. The Festival is usually takes place at the Ann Street Plaza, Parking Lot 1 and the East Lansing Marriott.

Notable people

 * Spencer Abraham: former US Senator and Secretary of Energy under President George W. Bush.
 * Robert D. Alexander: public policy activist.
 * Chuck Bullough: former NFL Player and current Defensive coordinator for UCLA.
 * Jim Cash: screenwriter of films such as Top Gun, Legal Eagles, Dick Tracy, and Anaconda, was a long-time resident of East Lansing and a professor at MSU. Born in Boyne City, MI.
 * Malcolm X: lived in the Urbandale neighborhoood in Lansing Township, a short distance west of East Lansing, and wrote about his East Lansing experiences in his autobiography.
 * Todd Martin: tennis pro. 1988 graduate of ELHS.
 * Julie Mehretu: graduate of ELHS, artist, and recipient of MacArthur Fellowship ("genius award").
 * Ryan Miller: Hobey Baker winner at MSU, NHL goalie for the Buffalo Sabres, an NHL All-Star in 2007, and goalie for the U.S. hockey team in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
 * Drew Miller: Wing player for the Detroit Red Wings. Brother of Ryan Miller.
 * Larry Page: CEO and co-founder of Google Inc. and the 11th richest person in America in 2009 according to Forbes.
 * Wally Pleasant, comedic folk singer.
 * Ben Poquette: NBA basketball player.
 * Susan May Pratt: actress.
 * Nate Silver: statistician-journalist; named one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People" by TIME Magazine.
 * The Verve Pipe: post-grunge band.