“I’m seeing people stepping up and starting these businesses that have an urban focus or that are designed in some way to improve the quality of life in cities. But on the other hand I think it is just a really challenging undertaking.”

~ David Tarver

“We have a team of interdisciplinary students responding in various ways: law students researching legal questions related to Small Business Administration lending, public policy students creating easy to understand guides, and design students designing templates for businesses moving to online sales.”
~ Justin Erickson, program manager for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project.

“I’m constantly thinking about equity and how can the good fortunes be spread and go into the neighborhoods that haven’t been touched so much. That’s really important.”
~ Margaret Dewar

The Detroit School was created in 2012 by University of Michigan Professor Margaret Dewar and three PhD students in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, who wanted to view urban planning through the lens of shrinking populations. 

While further research is needed, the U-M experts believe their findings—published in Science of The Total Environment—could provide evidence for the Environmental Protection Agency to ease some of the costly abatement burden for demolitions for cities around the country.

Despite the efforts of local government and nonprofits in the home repair ecosystem, Poverty Solutions’ research found there are simply not enough resources available to meet demand in Detroit.

The late Mary Chase Perry Stratton founded Pewabic Pottery in 1903. Her legacy, like her influence, remains a force. She received a prestigious honorary Master of Arts degree in 1930, established the first ceramic arts studio at the University of Michigan during World War II, helped built its art museum’s collection and penned a ceramics text that is still in use by artists today, cementing her reputation as an innovator and, interestingly, as a teacher. 

As director of U-M’s Ginsberg Center, Mary Jo Callan helps make connections on a daily basis, pairing community partners addressing social concerns, such as nonprofit organizations, schools, and local governments, across Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit with students and faculty at U-M to support their work.

“Perhaps more importantly, health and housing work in Detroit is ultimately racial justice work. I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, and what I do is motivated by the overt and disturbing inequities that exist in the Detroit metropolitan region… I hope that my work can bring some material benefit to the people of Detroit.”
~ Alexa Eisenberg