For our winter project, we partnered with Live6 Alliance “a neighborhood-based community planning and development organization working to advance economic development strategies that increase opportunity and enhance the quality of life in Northwest Detroit. Live6 is a one-stop shop for authentic, inclusive neighborhood revitalization with a particular focus on the Livernois and McNichols corridors. The organization serves as a central convener and coordinator between the community, institutions, and key stakeholders who contribute to the advancement of the district.”

In September 2025, we spent part of fellow orientation in the Livernois-McNichols corridor where we got to hear from local developers, business owners, neighbors, community leaders and the Live6 Alliance team. As part of one of our team-building exercises, fellows participated in a neighborhood scavenger hunt to learn more about the community assets within walking distance from HomeBase, Live6’s headquarters. For some of the fellows this was their first time in the corridor, for others it was a return visit, and for a couple of fellows, it’s a very familiar place that they frequent daily.

Left: The Live6 team taking the Fellows on a walk around the corridor to learn about upcoming projects and existing assets. Top right: Chase Cantrell shares about the process of developing in the area and building out the Enclave. Bottom Right: Fellows visit Mockery Zero Proof to hear Karlyta Williams’ entrepreneurial story.

Team building and exploring the corridor. Top Left: Fellows visit TMo’s Bbq and learned about the origin of its name. Bottom left: Hubert Massey’s Aaliyah Mural. Top right: Fitzgerald Mural. Bottom right: Fellows at Marygrove.

After many conversations, we returned in January 2026 to kick-off our partnership with Live6. In the coming months, Live6 will launch their modern mercantile located at 7434 W. McNichols called “Shops on Six,” a collaborative community marketplace that will provide high quality yet affordable daily essentials in the following retail categories:

  • Grab and Go Healthy Groceries
  • HomeGoods/Essential Supplies
  • Apothecary/Personal Health and Wellness Items
  • Boutique Apparel, Accessories, Jewelry, Art and Paper Goods

Rendering of the Shops on Six interior. Photo is owned by Live6 Alliance.

The space is currently in construction but the Live6 team has been envisioning how the space can incubate and grow small business, provide essential goods for the surrounding community and serve as a launch point for future strategies across their corridor. This is where our collaboration began and we grounded our work in the question:

“How might we support Live6’s mission of increasing economic opportunity in the corridor, using Shops on Six as a pilot project and catalyst?”

To explore this, four teams of Fellows were formed, each focused on a critical component needed to support the launch and activation of Shops on Six. Using a human-centered approach, we started with deep immersion in Live6’s work to better understand both what they do and how they do it. On the first day alone, we visited the Shops on Six storefront to observe construction progress and visualize how the renderings will be translated into a real-world experience. We participated in a food access immersion to better understand both the availability and gaps in what the corridor currently offers. We also heard from a panel of diverse stakeholders, grounding our understanding in multiple lived perspectives. From there, we expanded our engagement to include entrepreneurs, subject-matter experts, community members and leaders, and even two high school seniors from the School at Marygrove who were interning with Live6—ensuring that a wide range of voices helped shape both the immediate activation and long-term strategy.

To read about what the teams of Fellows learned and the outcomes of the partnership, check out the team blogs linked here:

Spent the morning at Detroit Sip during our project kick-off and learned more about Live6 and the work they do.

Getting an inside look of the Shops on Six brick and mortar storefront.

Stakeholder Panel: Dave Walker, WALK Studio; Rene Allen, President of the Roselawn Resurgence Block Club; Karlyta Williams, Owner/Founder of The Mockery Zero Proof; Dr. Devon Buskin, Co-Founder/CEO of Detroit City Lions Youth Club

Thanks to the Live6 Alliance team—Caitlin Murphy, Chanale Greer (Challenge Alumni Fellow), Dennis White (Challenge Alumni Fellow), Paul Schreiber, and Taqee Vernon for partnering with us and welcoming us into your space, for sharing your expertise and connecting us with stakeholders who all offered valuable insights. We are excited to see the launch of Shops on Six!

Live6 Executive Director Caitlin Murphy sharing remarks after Fellows presented their work.

Current Fellow and Live6 staff member, Kwesi Huffman, getting started on the sustainability efforts immediately!