“We found that placemaking had a very positive impact on the growth and development and the resurgence of urban communities, really throughout the throughout the world, but especially here in Detroit, and that it really helped to drive the change in conversation.”

As one of the least connected major U.S. cities, the need to close the digital divide in Detroit is significant. Over a third of households in Detroit lack broadband internet access, defined federally as a 25 megabits per second download speed and 3 megabits per second upload speed. Lack of access compounds dozens of other quality-of-life issues and dramatically affects access to education, the ability to find better jobs or to gain timely information about the COVID-19 pandemic.