The variety and volume of the efforts are a collaboration with Detroit’s neighborhoods, its community organizations and its residents. While the specific goals and partners of each effort vary, all of the work aims to help boost the vitality of Detroit and the region. 

His project in Detroit will attempt to address the issue of internet connectivity through the design of a building that will be a community anchor, providing internet access. It also will help to create a new social destination with spaces for gathering, where residents can come together.

Hosted by Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, ENGAGE Program Manager and adjunct lecturer, the discussions focus on equity issues in Detroit and movements for social change in the city. They are free and open to the public and have featured speakers including thought leader and scholar Tawana Petty; Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib; lawyer and activist Deepa Iyer, among other prominent activists, scholars, and community leaders. 

Join this discussion, moderated by Patrick Carter from the U-M Injury Prevention Center, on ways to reframe the gun debate in America.

Riverside communities have displayed remarkable resilience through the myriad trials of the past 75 years, and this project aims to partner with these communities as they continue reshaping the shared narratives that will lay the groundwork for a sustainable post-carbon future for the region.

Justin Golden, BBA ‘02, has partnered with several other U-M alumni to start Greatwater Opportunity Capital, a real estate private equity investment management and development firm focused on providing housing in Detroit’s neighborhoods.

“The program allows students to study across a variety of disciplines and learn on a number of different fronts related to real estate and development,” said Marc Norman, director of real estate initiatives at Taubman College and associate professor of practice in urban and regional planning. 

Since 2017, the city of Detroit, Rocket Community Fund, and United Community Housing Coalition have implemented the Make It Home program, which has offered more than 1,100 occupants of tax foreclosed houses the chance to purchase (or re-purchase) their homes through a one-year 0% interest loan to cover the cost of back taxes.

An important goal of the class was to ensure that the creative prompts and project instructions were clear, manageable and fun. To this end, students gathered “real world” user feedback from Stamps lecturer Emilia White and alumna Sarah Buckius, both of whom are parenting young children at home.