Metro Detroit might want to look to the Basque region of Spain or Bologna, Italy for ideas on how to rejuvenate our local economy. Both communities have turned community-based enterprise into impressive long term successes.

Splitting her time between the Motor City suburbs and the Mile High City, Metromode's Tanya Muzumdar sees ideas and innovations ripe for importation. Maybe instead of going it alone, Metro Detroit should consider going West for some urban inspiration.

If you've never heard of transit-oriented development, it really needs a spot on your hot list. With a transit center planned for Birmingham and Troy, Metro Detroit is back to workin' on the railroad. But maybe the new D Train could take a lesson from the Santa Fe Express.

Over a billion downloads can't be wrong! iPhone apps are the new gold rush of software development, turning backroom start-ups into overnight successes. And Metro Detroit is getting in on the action.

You don't have to go to New York City or Chicago to get top-of-the-world views. Urban professionals are rethinking the traditional big house, big yard template of living, and moving into downtown high rises. From Royal Oak to Birmingham to Ann Arbor, Metromode gives you a sense of what it means to be "movin' on up" in Metro Detroit.

From households to businesses to city government, everyone is in belt-tightening mode. But if there's one thing Metromode believes, it's that necessity is the mother of invention. A few Metro Detroit communities have come up with innovative and inexpensive ways to revitalize their downtowns. Time to take notes!

Metro Detroit is big. Really big. And not all scenes are created equal. Finding the right restaurant, the right nightclub, even the right place to buy naughty underthings can be daunting. Metromode feels your pain. That's why we created our Insider Guides. Come on in and we'll explain it all to you.

Michigan is not exactly known for its multi-culturalism, but in this Obama age, stereotypes can be broken.

A jazz and pop master from the Ivory Coast is playing Dick Odow’s Pub in Birmingham Friday night. He also played in a 14 year old kid's basement in Birmingham this week. Michigan Now's Chris McCarus was there.