Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan, about 15 miles west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 86,602.

The city motto is "The Place To Be."

During the 1700s, the area was inhabited by the people of a Pottawatomi Indian village. Other tribes, particularly three Algonquin tribes, used the area as hunting territory. A flour mill, which was restored by Henry Ford in 1918, was built in this same area. Once restored, the mill was used to make stencils for Ford car parts. Named Nankin Mills, this historic site is now used as a nature interpretive center and other community events.

Before becoming "Westland," the area had several other names. Though white settlers did not begin to settle the area until about 1824, they began to arrive at the beginning of the 19th century. "Bucklin Township" was first organized in 1827 and included what is now the cities of Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, Wayne, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Redford Township. By an act of the Michigan Territorial Legislature, October 20, 1829, Bucklin Township was divided into Lima and Richland Townships. However, due to a naming conflict under postal regulations at that time, Lima was renamed as Nankin Township, after the Chinese city Nanking, and Richland as Pekin Township, named after Peking, though Pekin became Redford Township in 1833. The trend of naming townships after Chinese places can also be seen in nearby Canton Township, named after Canton.

In 1835, Livonia Township (now the city of Livonia) was split off from Nankin. Wayne incorporated as a village in 1869 and as a city in 1960. Garden City incorporated as a village in 1927 and as a city in 1933. Inkster incorporated as a village in 1926 and as a city in 1964.

By 1960, Nankin’s population had increased to 70,000, giving the area the distinction of being the world’s largest township. During the early 1960s, the city of Livonia, north of Nankin, wanted to annex the part of Nankin in which a large shopping mall, Westland Shopping Center (now Westland Mall), was to be built. In reaction to this, the people of Nankin voted to incorporate the remainder of the township as a city and effective May 16, 1966, Nankin became the city of Westland, named after the mall, which had opened in 1965. At that time, it was the fourth largest city in Wayne County when it incorporated.

Westland Shopping Center was one of four malls built during the 1950s/60s in the Detroit suburban area: Northland in Southfield (2nd earliest enclosed mall built in USA), Eastland in Harper Woods, and Southland in Taylor. All four malls were originally built by the Hudson's department store, but have changed owners several times since then.

Westland and city of Wayne formed the Wayne/Westland School District. There are two high schools, John Glenn in Westland and Wayne Memorial in Wayne. Within Westland city limits, there is a Livonia Public school, Nankin Mills Elementary, near the historic mill.