As a new pastor Charles Williams III made sure to connect Historic King Solomon Baptist Church to its social service roots. He established a food pantry at the church, clothing giveaways, Thanksgiving meals and youth mentoring services. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan in March 2020, Williams was ready to do more.

The Dow Sustainability Fellows program supports U-M graduate students and scholars in their efforts to create sustainable solutions to pressing issues in various areas of study. The fellows engage in interdisciplinary, actionable, and meaningful work, tackling problems on a local, national, and global scale. Each fellow receives a $20,000 stipend and participates in collaborative activities and a team project.

“There are at least opportunities to meet one another, collaborate with one another, advise larger groups of people who are doing engagement, and who are working in Detroit, and who are thinking about working in Detroit. It doesn’t have to be everybody starting from scratch completely every time. It’s not perfect yet but it’s better than it was, and I think people are communicating.”
~ Trina Shanks, social work professor

O’Keefe recognizes that addressing racial inequity is a big and complex problem and says that the planning field as a whole “still has a lot to grapple with when it comes to equity.”

I learned how to motivate my team as a leader, how to ask the right questions to ensure I’m developing the best deliverables for my client, and how to celebrate small wins in order to move toward larger goals. 

A Podcast on what makes one want to be in the city of Detroit. Join our host Katie Lehman as she interviews students, scholars, innovators, and leaders from across the city to learn how they came to live, work, and love in Detroit.

Hip-hop architecture has garnered more attention in recent years, with a major exhibition at the Center for Architecture in New York, TED Talks, and a feature in Architect magazine. But while it’s a useful concept, Craig Wilkins refuses to let the label limit a set of practices and ideals that, he argues, ought to infuse the entire profession.

Researchers at the University of Michigan joined forces with community members and the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition to evaluate the noise impact of the trucks on the neighborhood, many being rerouted as part of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge under construction.

“Detroit has a lot of possible accommodation sites within 50 miles, but a lot fewer five-star hotel rooms, which is where the Olympic bigwigs usually like to stay. This is just one example of the ways in which a Detroit games could bring the IOC back in touch with its real audience.”
~ Stefan Szymanski