Led by María Arquero de Alarcón, associate professor of architecture and urban and regional planning, students explored Wahnabezee — or Belle Isle, as the island park is known today — through oral and written histories, archival material, maps, photographs, and site visits to gain a multi-layered reading of the island and its hidden stories.

The Detroit Economic Outlook for 2021-26, released Friday, notes challenges in gathering economic data during the pandemic but says the city “has shown resilience in the face of an unprecedented downturn.”

InPACT at Home received $1 million in COVID-19 CARES funds and solidified a partnership with PBS Michigan Learning Channel to air these homegrown exercise videos on television, reaching schoolchildren who don’t have access to the internet. InPACT stands for Interrupting Prolonged Sitting with Activity.

Engage Detroit Workshops will award grants up to $15,000. Events should bring together faculty, students, staff, and Detroit communities in discussing a topic of common interest. Proposed activities could be a workshop, speaker series, seminar, training series, or similar event structure. Apply by March 20.

“Having a loved one lost to COVID-19 pneumonia, we’re definitely happy that Douglas Jones and Mr. Whitaker are here sharing and participating and sprinkling their love and vision in the Virginia Park community.”

~ Venita Thompkins, active resident in Virginia Park

Nearly one of every four parents who are not in the labor force (23%) reported they stopped working within the past year—three times the rate of other Detroiters who are out of the labor force.

A representative survey from U-M’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study demonstrates that Black Detroit residents adopted these safety measures earlier than other groups. While 59% of Black residents were wearing masks at that point in the pandemic, only 38% of white residents and 35% of Latino residents were doing so.

Today, in developing Avalon’s footprint across Detroit and Ann Arbor, Jackie Victor says she has always wanted a community-minded place where people meet, eat and organize a better world. That may be why you never know who you’ll run into at Avalon from CEOs to small-business owners to everyday working people who are drawn to her energy and optimism. 

Economic mobility projects led by Church of Messiah Housing Corp., Journey to Healing, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, and Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency will receive technical assistance and $10,000 grants from Poverty Solutions at U-M.