A new study by a University of Michigan student team has identified “hot spots” of environmental injustice across the state. U.S. census tracts in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, Lansing and Kalamazoo are among the hot spots identified in the study, which was released today.

Joshua Akers first arrived in Michigan in 2010 to work on his dissertation about the housing crisis. He stayed to help shed light on how speculators were affecting Detroit neighborhoods with bulk buying. With the help of students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where Akers is an assistant professor of geography and urban & regional studies he created Property Praxis, a collective exercise illustrating the impact of speculation on cities.

The state’s top three public research universities will collaborate to provide Detroit-specific economic data analysis and forecasting services to the city of Detroit. The partnership will be led by the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics at U-M, but the work will be collaborative.

UM-Dearborn professor emeritus Lars Bjorn is still an integral part of Detroit’s jazz scene today. As the president of the Southeast Michigan Jazz Association for over a dozen years, he continues to support and encourage jazz musicians throughout the state. “The jazz scene in Detroit is getting better. It has been up and down, primarily with the fortunes of the city, but it is coming back,” he says. “It’s still a vital jazz scene.” To see jazz in Detroit, Bjorn suggests the historic Cliff Bell’s jazz club.

Anna Muller, the Frank and Mary Padzieski Endowed Professor in Polish/Polish American/Eastern European Studies at UM-Dearborn said: “As we heard stories of solidarity among the people who once lived there, I looked at (CASL Dean) Marty Hershock. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: ‘This is Detroit’s story.’”

As they uncovered the history of police violence that has affected a city so close to their home, HIS 393 students walked away with investigative experience that should benefit them in their post-collegiate careers.

Three University of Michigan faculty members are part of a team who won an international design competition that will unite 12 cultural and educational institutions located in Detroit’s Midtown and change the way visitors and Detroiters experience the area.

“I mean, I think if we’re honest, we originally thought we could, at the least, change the nature of the conversation by putting our ideas on the table. And then we got through to the final three, and then we were selected as winners—and I’m just really proud that all the stakeholders appreciated our knowledge and perspective and trust us to carry it through.”

“Locally we had the perfect storm of people—not only had we all worked together in some capacity before, but we all had such different skills. My studio, Akoaki, specializes in architecture, cultural programming and urban design. Rootoftwo are known for their innovative work work with technology, public art and public policy. Harley Etienne is a leader in planning. Agence Ter, our partners from France, are recognized for their international landscape and urban design projects.”