Southfield, Michigan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Southfield, Michigan
City
City of Southfield
Left to right from top: Southfield Town Center, American Center, Southfield Public Library, One Towne Square, and Lawrence Technological University.
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  SFLD
Motto(s):  The Center of it All
Location within Oakland County
Southfield, Michigan Location in Michigan Show map of Michigan Southfield, Michigan Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Oakland
Organized	1830 (as Southfield Township)
Incorporated	1958
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
Area
• City	26.26 sq mi (68.01 km2)
• Land	26.25 sq mi (68.00 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation	682 ft (208 m)
Population  (2010)
• City	71,758
• Estimate  (2019)	72,689
• Density	2,768.58/sq mi (1,068.96/km2)
• Metro	4,296,250 (Metro Detroit)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	48033, 48034, 48037, 48075, 48076, 48086
Area code(s)	248 and 947
FIPS code	26-74900
GNIS feature ID	0638439

Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 71,739.

As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was originally part of Southfield Township before incorporating in 1958. The autonomous city of Lathrup Village is an enclave within Southfield. The city is home to the Southfield Town Center complex, which includes five interconnected office buildings. The tallest of these, 3000 Town Center, is 402 feet (122.5 m) tall; it is the state's second-tallest building outside Detroit (after the River House Condominiums in Grand Rapids) and the state's 16th-tallest building overall.  

History

Southfield was surveyed in 1817 according to the plan by Michigan territorial governor Lewis Cass. The first settlers came from nearby Birmingham and Royal Oak, Michigan, as well as the states of New York and Vermont. The area that would become Southfield was settled by John Daniels in 1823. Among the founders were the Heth, Stephens, Harmon, McClelland and Thompson families. Town 1 north, 10 east was first organized as Ossewa Township on July 12, 1830, but the name was changed just seventeen days later to Southfield Township. The township took its name from its location in the "south fields" of Bloomfield Township. A post office was established in 1833 and the first town hall built in 1873. The Southfield Fire Department was formed on April 6, 1942, and the Southfield Police Department in 1953.

Southfield Town Center

In the 1950s, cities and villages began to incorporate within the township, including Lathrup Village in 1950, and Beverly Hills in 1957. Most of what was left of the township was formally incorporated as a city on April 28, 1958 to protect it from annexation attempts by the city of Detroit, whose expanding African American community was perceived as a threat by whites who fled to overwhelmingly white suburbs like Southfield as a part of segregationist white flight. (definition, origin of phrase required for better understanding)

The current city hall was built in 1964 as part of the new Civic Center complex, which also became home to Southfield's police headquarters. The Civic Center was expanded in 1971 to include a sports arena with swimming pool. Evergreen Hills Golf Course was added in 1972, and in 1978, a new public safety building, the Southfield Pavilion and a new court building were added. In 2003, an expanded and redesigned Southfield Public Library opened to the public on the Civic Center grounds, featuring state-of-the-art facilities. Outside the Civic Center complex, Southfield also has municipal parks and recreation facilities, which were largely developed in the 1970s, including Beech Woods Recreation Center and John Grace Community Center. Duns Scotus College is now the home of Word of Faith Christian Center.

Diplomatic missions

The Consulate of Macedonia in Detroit is in the Southfield Town Center, and the Consulate of Iraq in Detroit is in Southfield.

Geography

St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, founded by Alex Manoogian

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.28 square miles (68.06 km²), of which, 26.27 square miles (68.04 km²) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road. Southfield's northern border does not follow a single road, but lies approximately around Thirteen Mile Road. The city is bordered by Detroit and Redford Township to the south, Farmington Hills to the west, Franklin, Bingham Farms, and Beverly Hills to the north and Royal Oak, Berkley and Oak Park to the east. The separate city of Lathrup Village sits as an enclave in the eastern part of the city, completely surrounded by Southfield.

Demographics

Word of Faith International Christian Center in Southfield, formerly Duns Scotus College

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 71,739 people, 31,778 households, and 18,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,730.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,054.4/km²). There were 35,986 housing units at an average density of 1,369.9 per square mile (528.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.3% African American, 24.9% White, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 31,778 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 19.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% 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 2.96.

The median age in the city was 42. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.7% male and 55.3% female.

Socioeconomic status

The most common occupations for people in Southfield are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Southfield is a city of sales and office workers, professionals and managers. A relatively large number of people living in Southfield work in office and administrative support (16.00%), sales jobs (10.93%), and management occupations (9.72%). Southfield's populace is very well-educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation. Whereas 21.84% of the average community's adult population holds a 4-year degree or higher, 38.73% of Southfield's adults have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree. Southfield's per capita income in 2010 was $28,995.

Ethnic groups

African Americans

In 2002 Southfield had 42,259 black people, the second-largest black population in Metro Detroit and third-largest in Michigan.

As of 2011, many African Americans from Detroit were moving into Southfield and other suburbs of Oakland and Macomb counties. Tensions have occurred between existing middle-class blacks in Southfield and newcomers from Wayne County.

Chaldeans

As of 2001 many Chaldeans live in Southfield; they are mostly Assyrian Christians. The Chaldean Federation of America, an umbrella organization for most regional Chaldean groups, is in Southfield. As of that year, the largest Chaldean church, by number of congregants, was based here. The city also had the area's sole Chaldean retirement home.

Transportation

One Towne Square

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) operates local and regional bus transit.

The major thoroughfares in the city include the John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10), which is among the first urban to suburban highways constructed in the United States. The city also contains I-696, Southfield Freeway (M-39), and US 24 (Telegraph Road). The city has several freeway interchanges connecting local roads to the freeways. Most prominently, "The Lodge" freeway connects downtown Detroit to "The Mixing Bowl," the sprawling interchange of I-696, US 24, M-10, Lahser Road, and Franklin Road, all of which are in Southfield.

Most major streets adhere to a north–south/east–west orientation, forming a grid of major streets spaced one mile (1.6 km) apart from each other. The major east–west streets are 8 Mile Road (which forms the southern boundary of the city), 9 Mile Road (which is split by the Southfield Freeway), 10 Mile Road, 11 Mile Road (which is split by the Lodge), and 12 Mile Road. Major north–south streets are Telegraph Road, Lahser Road, Evergreen Road, Southfield Road (the northern extension of the Southfield Freeway) and Greenfield Road (which forms the eastern boundary of the city).

Parks and recreation

At one time the Japan Festival was held in Southfield.

Economy

Southfield Town Center across from Lawrence Technological University

Southfield is a commercial and business center for the metropolitan Detroit area, with 27,000,000 square feet (2,508,400 m²) of office space, second in the Detroit metro area to Detroit's central business district of 33,251,000 square feet (3,089,000 square meters). Several internationally recognized corporations have major offices and headquarters in Southfield, including Veoneer, Huf Hülsbeck and Fürst, Denso, Peterson Spring, Federal-Mogul, Lear, R.L. Polk & Co., International Automotive Components, Stefanini, Inc. and Guardian Alarm. More than 100 Fortune 500 companies have offices in Southfield.

Sumitomo Corporation operates the Detroit Office in Suite 1450 at 27777 Franklin Road. Industries supported by the office include automotive, rolled steel, and tubular products.

On October 28, 2014, Fifth Third Bank announced plans to move its Michigan regional headquarters from Southfield to downtown Detroit in what will be named the Fifth Third Bank Building at One Woodward. The office had 150 employees.

Northland Center, one of the nation's first shopping malls, opened in Southfield in 1954 and closed in 2015. As of 2022, the property is being redeveloped as a mixed-use residential and commercial complex. Southfield is home to over 780 acres (3.2 km²) of parkland and a nationally recognized public school district.

Education

Lawrence Technological University

Southfield Public Schools operates area public schools. Southfield Senior High School for the Arts and Technology (commonly known as Southfield A&T) is the district's sole high school. There were originally two high schools in the district, Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup, but they were consolidated after the 2015–16 school year. Students living in parts of Northern Southfield attend schools in the Birmingham City School District, while students living in the southeast corner of Southfield attend schools in the Oak Park School District. Southfield A&T also competes in the Oakland Activities Association in the Red Division for high school sports, and has membership in the MHSAA.

AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School is an Armenian charter in Southfield.

Farber Hebrew Day School – Yeshivat Akiva is a private Jewish school in Southfield.

Southfield Christian School is a private school in Southfield.

Southfield Public Library operates public libraries in the city.Providence Medical Center offers residency training in various fields of medicine.

Colleges and universities

Southfield is home to eight colleges, including Lawrence Technological University, Abcott Institute, Everest Institute and Oakland Community College. The Specs Howard School of Media Arts is in Southfield.

Notable people

Images for kids

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  Travelers Tower 1

See also

In Spanish: Southfield (Míchigan) para niños