When Stamps Professors Ron Eglash and Audrey Bennett were invited by leading artificial intelligence developers to help democratize AI, they didn’t stop with the original prompt. Their research also explored how digital fabrication tools might benefit small worker-owned shops in Detroit. ​“With so many of them located in Detroit’s Black communities, it seemed like a unique opportunity to explore how AI and platform-based technologies might create new collaborations between African heritage communities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,” Eglash said.

While Kevin Naud was born and raised in Ann Arbor, the Ford School alumnus’ offspring will be born and raised in Detroit. Naud, who graduated with a Master’s of Public Policy degree in 2021, and his wife are expecting their first child and just bought a house in the city. He went far from home to realize the work he was most passionate about could easily be done in his new hometown.

“And learning from a place like Detroit. I mean, there’s so much history here. It’s so unique. If you can pull on the uniqueness of Detroit, I mean, you can take that method and be successful anywhere. Learning about culture, learning about how to actually work in a community.”

~ Nando Felten, U-M alum and community manager for Google’s Code Next Detroit

M1DTW Architects, a firm founded by Taubman College’s Christian Unverzagt, is being recognized for an innovative project to turn an abandoned commercial building in Detroit’s East Village into a multipurpose facility that supports several local galleries.

Detroiters faced a challenging 2024 as resident employment declined, but the city is expected to return to growth this year as monetary policy eases and interest rates moderate, according to University of Michigan economists. Wages also are expected to grow for residents this year and in the next few years—narrowing a still-large disparity in wage levels between Detroiters and jobs in the city.

A public-private initiative to redevelop the Detroit Cultural Center was honored with the prestigious “Partners in Progress” Award at the iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The project was designed by Taubman College’s Anya Sirota and her firm, Akoaki, in collaboration with the Paris-based landscape architecture practice Agence Ter.