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.

With all the talk of film studios moving into Detroit, Pontiac and Allen Park, people seem to forget that SE Michigan has long had a state-of-the-art studio operating in its own backyard. For 25 years, Grace & Wild has been the go-to facility for advertising and film production. And with the state's new film incentives, they see an expanding landscape of opportunities.

With all the buzz around the fate of Tiger Stadium and Detroit's Lafayette Building, Model D asked two outspoken members of the preservation and development communities to share their points of view. Metromode believes the city's historical identity and legacy are issues that are important to all of Metro Detroit.

Only 18 months old, the state's film production tax incentive has begun to redefine start-up culture in SE Michigan. Beyond the hit-and-run productions that breeze in and out of the region, a real industry is starting to take root. Metromode sits down with Genre Film Partners, a company intending to shoot 8-10 movies here over the next four years.

There are only 20 of 'em in the world and Rochester's on the list. Seem unlikely? Not when you consider the fact that local resident Dale Hughes is one of the few people in the world who actually gets paid to design Velodromes. Don't get caught "off the back." Read on...

Making good and making a buck are not necessarily contradictory ideas. Metromode introduces you to a quartet of green collar companies who are trying to do right by both Michigan's economy and the environment.

The word medicine stems from the Latin ars medicina, meaning the art of healing. In his examination of the achy U.S. healthcare system, Metro Detroit physician and film director Sarab Neelam finds cultural identity and healing through art with his award-winning feature film debut, Ocean of Pearls.

Largely citified Metro Detroit has been lauded for its soul food, and lately, for its slow food. Rooted in locally grown, sustainable, healthy foodstuffs, the national leader in urban gardening is fertile grounds for the slow food supporters cropping up around the region.