In partnership with the Detroit River Story Lab, the Michigan Engaging Community through the Classroom at Taubman College has coordinated a number of courses this semester to focus on the Detroit River’s history.

Interested in urban issues? Here’s a list of courses offered at the University of Michigan this fall through the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts, the Law School, the Ford School of Public Policy, the School for Environment and Sustainability, the Ross School of Business, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

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.

Over twelve years ago, University of Michigan undergraduate Rachael Tanner asked herself a simple question: Why doesn’t U-M provide substantive opportunities for students to engage with Detroit?  Her urban studies professor, Stephen Ward, was intrigued by her motivation and encouraged her to write up her ideas for her final class project.

As Detroit emerged from the largest municipal bankruptcy in 2014, city officials knew they needed to boost collections of income tax—the city’s top source of revenue.

Reynolds Farley started teaching urban sociology in 1967, the same year of the Detroit riots.

Chene Street today is a far cry from its historic past, which is what inspired Marian Krzyzowsk, who grew up in the area, to launch the Detroit Chene Street History Project in 2002.