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VantagePort, formerly Aerotropolis, is the name of a region fundeded by intergovernmental cooperation of the Aerotropolis Development Corporation, an organization funded by Washtenaw County, the cities of Taylor, Belleville, Ypsilanti Township, the City of Ypsilanti and Van Buren Township, each of which have committed $250,000 annually to the body.

A plan to cultivate a transportation and logistics industry surrounding Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Willow Run Airport got a boost this morning when the Michigan Legislature passed a bill allowing local entities to distribute tax incentives to companies in these sectors.

Thursday, May 6, 2010 Washington, DC – Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) announced today he will be an original cosponsor of H.R. 5236, the Aerotropolis Act of 2010.

 

Promises for the future

Operating on the idea that regional economic vitality requires strong air travel connections to the rest of the world, many thought-leaders and regional officials are pursuing the idea of an "aerotropolis". The aerotropolis would use Detroit Metro and Willow Run Airports as anchors for the economy, assuming that, if the transportation links are there, the economy will follow. ("Phase 3: profit!")

While transportation infrastructure has always been a key driver of economic development, some possibilities for an aerotropolis seem to ignore existing residential and employment patterns - rather than leveraging the airports by linking them more efficiently with the rest of the region, these conceptions look to fill the area between the two airports with sprawl new development.

 

Aerotropolis is overrated

When in doubt, come up with a flashy name, then figure out what it means. Finally received a new name as of 2015.

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The repositioning of the soon-to-be-shuttered General Motors powertrain plant in Willow Run fits comfortably within efforts to transform the 60,000-acre region in Wayne and Washtenaw counties into a so-called “Aerotropolis,” officials said. That economic development initiative aims to use incentives to entice transportation companies to invest in the region surrounding the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Willow Run Airport.

Officials from Wayne and Washtenaw counties, the cities of Belleville, Romulus, Taylor and Ypsilanti, and Huron, Van Buren and Ypsilanti townships will sign an inter-local agreement to create the Aerotropolis Development Corp. under Act 7, the Urban Cooperation Act of 1967, according to a statement from Wayne County today.

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