The University of Michigan Center for Innovation is taking steps to evolve U-M’s deep history in Michigan’s largest city — drive prosperity through multidisciplinary education, industry-relevant research and community-accessible programs that catalyze talent, entrepreneurship and innovation rooted in the city of Detroit.
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October 13, 2026
SEAS students help to build a greener, more connected East Village
Geoffrey Batterbee (MS/MURP ’26) Devin Derr (MLA ’26), Anna Peppet (MS ’26), Mujie Sui (MS/MUD ’26) and Minxuan Zhang (MLA ’26) were recognized for their capstone project, “East Village Catalyst Plan: Building Community-Engaged Resilience in Detroit.”
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October 5, 2026
U-M to launch first-of-its-kind Master of Urban Technology in Detroit
The University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, in partnership with the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in Detroit, has launched the new Master of Urban Technology, a one-year master’s degree that teaches students how to use AI in real estate, urban planning, architecture and construction, and how this technology is shifting the way value is created and captured.
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October 22, 2026
Proposed additional ID requirements for voting could disenfranchise more than 1 in 4 Detroit adults
A new survey from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, in partnership with Outlier Media, has implications for voter disenfranchisement, as federal and Michigan lawmakers have proposed requiring voters to provide additional proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers.
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October 13, 2026
U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit celebrates construction milestone
“This milestone represents more than the progress of a building. It represents the momentum behind a shared vision for what is possible when the University of Michigan, Detroit and our partners come together,” said Scott Shireman, executive director of the U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit. “UMCI will create new opportunities for students, faculty, industry and the community to learn, collaborate and build what’s next.”
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October 13, 2026
Conrad Egyir named 2026-27 Roman J. Witt Artist in Residence
As part of the Witt Residency, Conrad Egyir will develop a multi-part interdisciplinary project titled The River That Remembers Us, an immersive exhibition examining water as a site of memory, transition, and Black epistemology.
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October 5, 2026
Remembering Reynolds Farley: An expert on Detroit, the census and America’s racial divide
Ren Farley’s rigor and warmth ran through his long-running course on Detroit’s history and future at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, capped each term by a daylong bus tour he narrated himself, from the Ford Rouge plant downtown, up Woodward, and through neighborhoods from Boston-Edison to Brightmoor.
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September 23, 2026
Detroit gun violence drops sharply during ShotStoppers program
A new evaluation of ShotStoppers by U-M’s Poverty Solutions found that in the second year of the program, CVI zones saw a 33% decrease in homicide victims and a 38% decrease in nonfatal shooting victims from August 2024 to July 2025, compared to the previous 12 months.
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September 22, 2026
U-M, MSU researchers receive $1M grant to advance equitable urban clean energy
Researchers from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University received a $1 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to launch a first-of-its-kind research initiative to examine how cities can reduce carbon emissions through clean energy investments, while ensuring the communities where these projects are built have a voice in the process and share their benefits.
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In The News
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October 26, 2026
WEMU
U-M study shows 1 in 4 Detroit voters could be disenfranchised
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October 22, 2026
Outlier Media
Detroiters: Our struggles are real — and multiplying
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October 19, 2026
Bridge Detroit
Detroit crime is falling. Residents say feeling safe is more complicated.
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October 13, 2026
Detroit Free Press
Opening set for Detroit’s University of Michigan Center for Innovation
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October 13, 2026
The University Record
U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit celebrates construction milestone
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October 26, 2026
WEMU