Michigan: The urban-rural divide writ large

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If we're discussing political trends rather than drawing fantasy maps, then you're missing the obvious, curious, fact: at a functional economic level there isn't all that much of an urban/rural division in Michigan. The metropolitan areas are themselves huge and sprawly (apt given the state's symbolic and historical role in the automotive industries) the economies of many rural areas are integrated into those of the cities, both in terms of smaller factories and also commuting-to-industrial-employment in larger settlements.