Editing East Lansing, Michigan (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Eastlansing.jpg|thumb|Downtown East Lansing at night, overlooking Albert Street]]
[[File:MSU Beaumont Tower 1.jpg|thumb|Beaumont Tower at [[Michigan State University]]]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|13.67|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|13.59|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.08|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=November 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=January 25, 2012 }}</ref>

Since 1998, East Lansing has expanded its borders through the use of [[425 Agreement]]s. The city is currently in three 425 Agreements with [[Bath Township, Michigan|Bath Township]], [[DeWitt Township, Michigan|DeWitt Township]], and [[Meridian Township, Michigan|Meridian Township]], and has effectively added thousands of acres of land to its border.

* East Lansing and [[DeWitt Township, Michigan|DeWitt Township]] entered into two 425s in 1998 and 2001, which involved nearly {{convert|1200|acre|km2}} of land. The agreement stipulates that East Lansing gains full control of the land after 33 years.
* East Lansing and [[Bath Township, Michigan|Bath Township]] entered into a 425 Agreement in June 2002 involving {{convert|1056|acre|km2}} of land. The agreement stipulates that East Lansing gains full control of the land after 100 years.
* East Lansing and [[Meridian Township, Michigan|Meridian Township]] entered into a 425 in November 2002 involving {{convert|101|acre|km2}} of land. The agreement stipulates that the Meridian Township residents get to decide the fate of the land after 100 years.

The city has also made use of annexation of surrounding township lands in recent years. It annexed the {{convert|66.5|acre|ha}} of the Four Winds Golf Course in [[Meridian Charter Township, Michigan|Meridian Township]] in 2001, and another {{convert|6|acre|ha}} of the township in 2006. The city also annexed from DeWitt Township the land that is currently the East Lansing Soccer Complex.

===Description===
The city's downtown area is centered around [[Grand River Avenue]], a wide, tree-lined boulevard that evolved out of the 19th-century [[plank road]] that connected [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]] to [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]]. Grand River Avenue and Michigan Avenue serve as a dividing line between the [[Michigan State University]] campus and the rest of the city. Immediately north of downtown are college town neighborhoods, where students and year-round residents can live close to the city's downtown and MSU's campus.

===Neighborhoods===
East Lansing has more than 25 neighborhoods, many of which have neighborhood associations that sponsor social events, attend to neighborhood issues, and often advocate for neighborhood interests in meetings of the city council and city commissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/LeftMenu/ToLiveinEastLansing/ToLivelinks/NeighborhoodAssociations/|title=Neighborhood Associations|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818192429/http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/LeftMenu/ToLiveinEastLansing/ToLivelinks/NeighborhoodAssociations/|archive-date=August 18, 2009}}</ref>

A section of the city has been designated a Historic District, and a Historic District Commission has been established by the city council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/Departments/BoardsCommissions/HistoricDistrictCommission/|title=Historic District Commission|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403055814/http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/Home/Departments/BoardsCommissions/HistoricDistrictCommission/|archive-date=April 3, 2011}}</ref> In addition, many landmark structures in the older neighborhoods have been identified within a Landmark Structures Historic District of the Historic Preservation Code.<ref>{{cite web|last=Forsyth|first=Kevin S|title=Landmark Structures|url=http://kevinforsyth.net/ELMI/list.htm|work=A Brief History of East Lansing, Michigan|access-date=February 7, 2011}}</ref>