8 Mile Road
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8 Mile Road forms the boundary between the city of Detroit, Michigan (and Wayne County) and Detroit's northern suburbs in Oakland and Macomb Counties. Residents of Detroit, and, as a whole, the state of Michigan, refer to this road (and other "mile" roads) as "Eight Mile", or "Eight" (as in 8 and Woodward).
The name comes from the Mile Road System, a method used to delineate east/west roads through the Detroit area. Mile roads begin at the intersection of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in downtown Detroit; therefore 8 Mile Road is approximately 8 miles north of that point.
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[edit] Racial and Economic Divide
The road has long served as a cultural dividing line between the predominantly poor African-American city and its wealthier white northern suburbs.
According to the 2000 US Census the median family income for the city of Detroit was $33,853, with an 81.55% African American population. 26.1% of the population lives below the poverty line.
By comparison, the median family income for Oakland county is $75,540, with an 82.75% white population. 5.5% of residents live below the poverty line.
The south side of 8 Mile Road is the location of many gentleman's clubs, as Oakland County prohibits those types of clubs within county borders.
[edit] Coleman Young Era
In 1973, in an attempt to show that he was serious about Detroit's problems with crime, mayor Coleman Young rhetorically told nefarious elements of the city to "hit Eight Mile." In a sign of the cultural divide between city and suburbs, Young's comment won some praise from city residents but sparked angry condemnation from suburban leaders, with whom Young had poor relations throughout his tenure as mayor.
[edit] Urban Renewal
Parts of the city of Detroit are experiencing urban renewal; neighborhoods which middle-class people would have generally avoided in the recent past have become more fashionable, particularly for youths. To the north of 8 Mile, once-pristine suburbs such as Warren have experienced decay and population loss. In addition, some suburban communities to the north of 8 Mile (notably Southfield and Oak Park) have become increasingly black, a sign that the racial demographics of the area are changing. Patterns of racial segregation persist to the east of Woodward Avenue, where suburban communities remain overwhelmingly white.
[edit] Geography
8 Mile Road extends west of Detroit and is also the boundary between Wayne and Washtenaw counties on the south and Macomb, Oakland, and Livingston counties on the north. For much of its length, in Wayne County, 8 Mile Road is designated as M-102.
8 Mile Road generally follows a straight line east of Northville. Between Griswold Street and Taft Road, 8 Mile bends toward the north, avoiding the city center before returning to its base line. Further west, 8 Mile bends southward around Whitmore Lake, before crossing US-23; 8 Mile ends shortly thereafter, at a junction with Hall Road, a local road near Hamburg.
[edit] 8 Mile film
The movie 8 Mile, starring Detroit area hip hop artist Eminem, as well as his song "Lose Yourself", both take their names and subject matter from this high-traffic and broad thoroughfare. On April 11, 2006, Eminem's best friend and fellow rapper in D12, DeShaun Holton also known as Proof, was shot to death at the CCC Club on a stretch of 8 Mile Road.
Interestingly enough, Eminem's mother Debbie Mathers was carjacked at a gas station on 8-Mile road on January 23rd, 2004. James Antonio Knott is currently serving a prison sentence as a result. He could be released in 2008.
[edit] 8 Mile in surveying
8 Mile Road is also known as Base Line Road, and marks the baseline used in the survey of Michigan land. It forms the boundary for many southern Michigan counties. Prior to the system used in Michigan, county boundaries were often set by geographic markers such as rivers, hills, and trees, and were therefore rather irregular. Michigan counties in the Lower Peninsula tend to be regularly bounded, and evenly sized, except in the cases of counties bordering one of the Great Lakes.
Where 8 Mile deviates from the base line in Northville, a portion of Base Line Road is a residential street, running from Old Novi Road to Center Street (Sheldon Road). Running slightly off alignment east of Old Novi because of a tributary of the Rouge River, Base Line reconnects to 8 Mile via Griswold Street.
