An accurate portrayal of Detroit’s history and current development must include mention of the city’s diverse Arab and Muslim populations. Sally Howell,  associate professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, addresses this gap with her Halal Metropolis project. 

It’s below freezing outside on a gray November morning in Detroit, but the heat is turned up in the Southwest Solutions Housing Resource Center’s reception area. A toddler plays on a colorful alphabet rug in the corner while a half-dozen women wait to learn more about their options for finding a place to stay.

Poverty Solutions, U-M’s presidential poverty research initiative started in 2016, funds the affordable housing policy fellowship. The digital inclusion policy fellowship and homelessness policy fellowship are supported by the Knight Foundation and Quicken Loans, respectively. 

The idea is that everyone has the right to do research and should be able to ask questions that will make their lives better. One doesn’t have to be in the academy to do research, everyday citizens can do research and it can lead to change.

~ Damani Partridge

As Amy Good neared graduation from the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work, Professor Rosemary Saari gave her a challenge. “She said, ‘Do something hard, and build something that wasn’t there before,” Good says.

Detroit is the birthplace of the University of Michigan where it was founded 1817 as the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania. At that time, Detroit was the capital of the Michigan Territory. In 1837, the Michigan Territory became the State of Michigan, and the University of Michigan moved to Ann Arbor in the original 40-acre parcel that is our current Diag.

Partnering with a small business owner to boost her coffee shop business, building a makerspace for students and the Brightmoor community, and working with Eastside city residents to create authentic tours are just a few projects the University of Michigan is collaborating on to boost entrepreneurial impact in Detroit.

“The economic success of our state is tied to the success of Detroit. It’s our largest city and it plays an important role in Michigan’s economic well-being. This new Detroit Center for Innovation will benefit not just Detroit, and the region – but also the entire state of Michigan.”

~ University of Michigan Regent Chair Ron Weiser, Ann Arbor

The variety and volume of the University of Michigan’s efforts touch 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.