The city that named itself after its mall

Westland has one of the most honest origin stories in American suburbia. In 1965, the gleaming new Westland Center opened in what was then Nankin Township — and neighboring Livonia immediately moved to annex the tax-rich land under it. Nankin’s residents weren’t having it: on May 16, 1966 they voted to incorporate as a city and, in a masterstroke of keeping things simple, named the whole city after the mall. Westland, Michigan — possibly the only American city named for a shopping center, and proudly unbothered about it.

There’s more to the place than the punchline. The William P. Holliday Forest & Wildlife Preserve threads 500-plus acres of genuine wild woods and wetlands along Tonquish Creek through the city’s west side, with miles of rough-and-ready hiking most metro Detroiters don’t know exists. Hines Park forms the city’s northern border, the Westland Historic Village Park keeps a cluster of 19th-century Nankin Township buildings, and the city’s farmers market and festivals fill the calendar. Named for a mall, sure — but living here is more trees than parking lot.