Downtown Lansing Downtown Lansing Downtown Lansing is the central business district of Lansing, Michigan, United States. Located in the west-central part of the city along the banks of the Grand River, downtown Lansing is primarily home to Michigan's state government and three colleges, and also contains sports facilities, museums, entertainment and retail, and a growing residential population. The area that would become downtown was part of the original plat of Lansing. When the city was chosen as the capital of Michigan in 1847, this area – known as Middle Town – was chosen as the site of the state capitol building, but
Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area Ionia County was added in 1973, but taken out a decade later for the 1990 Census. The Lansing–East Lansing–Owosso Combined Statistical Area includes the Lansing–East Lansing MSA, plus the Owosso μSA, which includes Shiawassee County. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 534,684. The Lansing Urban Area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, which measures the extent of the built environment, had a population of 313,532 as of the 2010 census. Lansing–East Lansing MSA Owosso μSA As of the census of 2010, there were 464,036 people, 183,442 households, and 112,131 families residing within the MSA.