Interspersed among Northwest Lower Michigan’s predominantly rural areas are pockets of high-density development.  While portions of a city are high-density compared with a village, that same village is high-density compared with the surrounding township.  Although the actual density of high-density developments varies considerably throughout the five-county region, existing and new high-density residential areas are essential if communities want to protect natural areas and agricultural lands.  Some rural townships may not have high-density residential districts today; however, a continuation of current development patterns will result in areas of high-density residential areas throughout the region – even if they are only high-density compared with current levels.  This is all the more reason for communities to determine today which areas should be preserved and which can support high-density development.