For anyone who thinks Detroit’s young people don’t care, don’t understand real challenges, don’t appreciate the guidance of a caring grownup, aren’t filled with amazing wisdom, or don’t want to work and contribute – think again. As far as Building the Engine of Community Development in Detroit (BECDD) is concerned our young people deeply care […]
There are a lot of ideas floating around about how to strengthen Detroit’s neighborhoods beyond downtown and Midtown. Now there’s a newly formed initiative committed to bringing all those ideas together and making them part of an integrated system that will move the neighborhood’s forward. Led by long-time community developer Maggie DeSantis, Building the Engine […]
Home on Detroit’s east side during a college break, Maggie DeSantis’ daughter made an announcement. Her community had begun to feel like it was a foreign place. “I’m not living here,” she said, “because the neighborhood is changing in a way I’m not comfortable with.” DeSantis, former head of the Eastside Community Network, immediately knew […]