Conan Smith, a businessperson quoted in a 2012 article by "The Ann Arbor News", stated the most significant reason Washtenaw County, including Ann Arbor, is not often included in definitions of Metro Detroit is that there is a "lack of affinity that Washtenaw County as a whole has with Wayne County and Detroit or Oakland County and Macomb". Ann Arbor is nearly 43 miles by car from Downtown Detroit, and developed separately as a university city, with its own character. Smith said that county residents "just don't yet see ourselves as a natural part of that region, so I think it feels a little forced to a lot of people, and they're scared about it".