The West Michigan Regional Planning Commission (WMRPC) serves a seven county area that includes the counties of Allegan, Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Osceola, and Ottawa. All counties except Kent County are active members of the WMRPC. While Kent County as a whole is not a member of the WMRPC, there are currently three communities within the County that are members: the cities of Grand Rapids, Wyoming, and Cedar Springs, which together make up nearly 50 percent of Kent County’s population. A summary profile for each of these three cities is presented below.

Incorporated in 1850, the City of Grand Rapids is the largest city within Region 8, and the second largest in the state. The City’s population in 2000 was 197,800. Thirty-five percent of Kent County’s residents live in Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids is currently experiencing a boom in the healthcare industry. Construction includes the Women’s Health Center of West Michigan, the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, the Van Andel Institute’s second phase, the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion, and the Michigan Street Medical Towers. The Michigan State University (MSU) College of Human Medicine will relocate to a new building on Michigan Street, which is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Grand Rapids is served by many traditional business districts such as Eastown, Cheshire Village, and Boston Square. These business districts serve as small downtowns for the surrounding neighborhoods, but they also attract people from other areas because of their unique personalities.

Grand Rapids is a regional center for the arts and entertainment and offers a variety of high quality theater productions, ballet, opera, symphony, modern performances, art exhibits, and museums. In October 2007, the Grand Rapids Art Museum moved into its new building on Monroe Center. The new facility is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified art museum in the world. The Wealthy Theatre, which was built in 1911 as a live performance theater, was restored and reopened in 1999 after being closed for more than 25 years. Today the Theatre serves as a community arts center and as an anchor for the surrounding business district.

The Heritage Hill neighborhood, which is located near downtown Grand Rapids, is the largest urban historical district in the United States. The neighborhood includes over 1,300 homes, which date from 1848 and represent over 60 architectural styles. Back in 1968, proposed urban renewal projects would have demolished 75 percent of the area’s structures. A group of concerned residents worked to have the neighborhood placed on the National Register of Historic Places and invoked national preservation legislation to stop the bulldozers. Not only did this save Heritage Hill, it also set a precedent throughout the U.S. for historic preservation.

The City of Wyoming, which is located southwest of Grand Rapids, was incorporated from Wyoming Township in 1959, and is named after Wyoming County in New York (which has a population smaller than the City of Wyoming). With a population of about 74,000, Wyoming is the 20th largest city in the state and the second largest in West Michigan.

Wyoming has the highest industrial tax base in West Michigan, with ten primary types of industries that include manufacturing, retail trades, and wholesale trade. There are 1,850 total businesses located throughout the city. The City’s two largest employers are General Motors and the headquarters of Gordon Food Service.

The 3.5 mile section of 28th Street (M-11) that extends through Wyoming is home to over 230 businesses and is known as the Wyoming TownCenter. In 1999, the City formed a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to develop and promote this area as a downtown. Since its creation, the DDA has improved the streetscape, created a downtown plan, and worked to improve the public image of the district.

In 2007, Metro Health Hospital moved to a 175-acre site in Wyoming located at M-6 (the South Beltline) and Byron Center Avenue. This development, which is called the Metro Health Village, includes many health related facilities, as well as retail businesses and restaurants.

A new Wyoming Public Library was completed in 2002. The library is 48,000 square feet and contains 122,000 volumes. The City’s new offices were also built in 2002.

Wyoming contains all or portions of six different school districts. The City also includes numerous parochial and charter schools. Wyoming provides extensive public recreational facilities with 21 city maintained parks covering about 665 acres.

Cedar Springs, which is located 20 miles north of Grand Rapids, is the smallest of Kent County’s nine cities in both land area and population (there are four villages within the county with fewer people). The community was established in 1856, but did not incorporate as a city until 1959. The community was named for the natural springs bordered by a cedar grove. Cedar Springs’ 2000 population was 3,112, which is an increase of nearly 20 percent from the 1990 census.

Cedar Springs is "Red Flannel Town USA" and the City proudly declares that it "gives you a welcome as warm as our red flannels!" The City forever became linked with red flannels back in 1936, when the whole country was in the midst of the "worst winter in years". A feature writer in New York complained that, "Here we are in the midst of an old-fashioned winter and there are no red flannels in the USA to go with it." The local newspaper responded with a declaration that Cedar Springs merchants do indeed have red flannels, and orders soon started pouring in from all over the country. By 1939, local residents decided that the City should have a "Red Flannel Day", which has become a week-long festival every fall. The annual festivities include a carnival, live music, a parade, and many other fun-filled events.

Cedar Springs has a diverse retail business district and a growing industrial base. Cedar Springs’ largest employer is Cedar Springs Public Schools. In 1989 a Downtown Development Authority was created to improve the City’s downtown.

The City is served by three public parks. In addition, the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail runs through Cedar Springs. This 75 mile long trail runs from Grand Rapids north to Cadillac and passes through many communities along its route. The portion of the path running through Cedar Springs was paved in 2007.

A new public library is planned for the City on donated land. The current library is 2,000 square feet and contains 20,000 volumes. Tentative plans for the new library show a building of 7,630 square feet with room for later additions to the building.