When people talk about Detroit’s resurgence, Midtown and downtown often take center stage, but the neighborhoods are just as changeable. That “change agent” needn’t come from major construction projects, new businesses, or celebrity attention – it’s a change that can come from within. That’s why Build a Better Block Foundation supports efforts to empower communities […]
For more than a quarter of a century, The Greening of Detroit has been laying roots in Detroit communities. Last year the organization helped the city plant trees in the Cody Rouge area to help control flooding and water runoff. This year it is planting in communities. The first shovels started digging on April 9 […]
Brightly colored blossoms will replace concrete cracks and overgrown weeds in lower east side Detroit communities this summer. With support from a $25,000 Kresge Innovative Projects grant in 2015, the technical assistance provider, published, Greenfill Development: A Guide to Repurposing Vacant Lots for Flower Farming Enterprises. The guide outlines two unique business models that will […]
Louise Ogadinma spent much of her childhood in west side Detroit community centers. After school in her neighborhood, there was no shortage of places where she and her friends could go to spend time enjoying extracurricular activities. Now a mother in her 20s, Ogadinma is concerned other Detroit youth don’t have the opportunities she had. […]
Susan Newell’s been fighting the good fight. A self-described “child of the ‘60’s,” an era when personal values often clashed with society’s agenda, the Three Mile Block Club president values few things more than her community. So it comes as little surprise to those who’ve known her that, even as a senior, Newell stays at […]
While the masterfully executed exit from bankruptcy will forever own its rightful place in history, Detroit faces another game-changing opportunity: Creating a growing economy that works for everyone. It is a challenge cities from around the nation are grappling with, and one, if accomplished here, will again demonstrate Detroit’s influence on the country. The progress […]
As part of the activity and excitement surrounding Detroit’s reformation, policymakers and planners would be wise to consider transforming Detroit into a world-class “age-friendly” community. The prospect of putting Detroit on course to be repopulated with a rich mix of young, middle age and older residents – coexisting and prospering – is nothing short of […]
There is a seed germinating from the darkness Little things are poking up and seeing the light Big things are making haste The people are coming together in love, not in fear – John Knowles, “A Rising in Detroit” John Knowles’ idyllic childhood on Princeton Street in northwest Detroit was like a scene from a […]
An old concept is getting new attention among various developers in Detroit and nationally. Mixed income housing is regaining interest as communities work to pick up the pieces left behind after the past decade’s mortgage crisis and as members of the corporate and private sector search for fertile ground in struggling urban cities. With Detroit […]
Interest and investments in Detroit’s neighborhoods are rising. Whether it’s immediately evidenced on your block or somewhere just “around the corner,” it is, indeed, welcome news that recovery is on the horizon. Although financial institution executives offer differing opinions on the top issues and impediments that hinder Detroit’s real estate market, there is 100 percent […]