The past few months, I have had the opportunity to work with Midtown Detroit Inc., a nonprofit planning and development organization, on my final Impact Project. I have admired this organization for many years, and as a happy resident of Midtown I have watched with great interest as the retail corridors around me have changed. […]
I consider myself relatively social and still relatively new to the city, so my family and out-of-town friends will often ask me what I do on weekends in Detroit.
While my answer in the winter mostly consists of “sleeping, eating and doing laundry”, this is DETROIT IN THE SUMMER, a phenomenon that turns even the truest […]
As our fifth and final team challenge with Techtown Detroit and Southwest Solutions comes to an end, and we all transition to our individual impact projects, I felt that I needed to give a quick shout out to the wonderful Year Five Fellows who have made this year meaningful for me both personally and professionally.
In […]
At this point, it’s likely old news when I say that there’s a lot to be excited about in Detroit. There’s high-level excitement about development and large-scale investment, and there is everyday excitement about the organizations, events and resources being developed across neighborhoods.
People tell me that blogs need lists, so I’ll tell you five things […]
This weekend was the Detroit Free Press Film Festival, an annual event that screens a variety of documentaries in venues across the city. I was able to catch two films, and the fact that I’m still thinking about both of them is a good sign that they were worth watching.
I want to focus on the […]
The legendary urban planner, Daniel Burnham, famously said “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood”.
This “dream big” sentiment rings true for aspiring urban planners who want to make a large-scale impact on a city or community. Since Detroit declared bankruptcy in 2013, a cross-sector network of civic leaders has taken […]
About five years ago, I spent a Saturday in Detroit with a few high school friends. One friend lived in the city and decided to introduce us to the Heidelberg Project. I remember driving through mostly vacant blocks with old tires stacked on corners and not a person in sight, wondering if we missed a […]
It’s difficult to talk about disasters in part because we can’t control them. But it’s crazy to think in a moment, a city that millions call home can be altered forever. This was true for New York after 9/11 and for New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. And it has been true for cities hit by fires, […]
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had the chance to catch up with friends and family who were curious about Challenge Detroit. When I explained my fellowship and my position with the Civic and Community Relations team at FCA, many said something like “it’s so nice that you’re spending your time ‘giving back'”.
I think a lot […]
Have you ever really thought about what allows you to connect to your neighborhood, to basic necessities, to your daily routine?
Every Monday through Thursday morning, I grab the keys to my Jeep and walk down the front stairs of my brick apartment building to the adjacent gated lot. I turn on my favorite podcast, or […]
