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Southfield, MI

Southfield, Michigan
City
City of Southfield
Southfield Town Center
Motto: The Center of it All
Location in the state of Michigan
Location in the state of Michigan
Southfield, Michigan is located in the US
Southfield, Michigan
Southfield, Michigan
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°28′47″N 83°14′42″W / 42.47972°N 83.24500°W / 42.47972; -83.24500
Country United States
State Michigan
County Oakland
Organized 1830
Incorporation 1958
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
 • Mayor Kenson J. Siver
 • City Administrator Frederick E. Zorn
Area
 • City 26.28 sq mi (68.06 km2)
 • Land 26.27 sq mi (68.04 km2)
 • Water 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation 682 ft (208 m)
Population (2010)
 • City 71,739
 • Estimate (2012) 72,507
 • Density 2,730.8/sq mi (1,054.4/km2)
 • Metro 4,296,250
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 48000-48099
Area code(s) 248, 947
FIPS code 26-74900
GNIS feature ID 0638439
Website www.cityofsouthfield.com

Southfield is a city in Oakland County of the US state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit, MI. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 71,739. A part of Metro Detroit's upscale office market, the city's marque is a cluster of five golden skyscrapers – known as the "Golden Triangle" – that form the contemporary 2,200,000 square feet (204,400 m2) Southfield Town Center office complex with a Westin Hotel and a conference center. In addition, a 33-story luxury residential high-rise is separate from the complex. To the west, near the confluence of I-696/Reuther Freeway and M-10/Lodge Freeway, is the American Center.

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.

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)


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