By Martha Cavazos and Jessica Wang

Last week, 35 individuals from across the United States gathered in its Motor City to begin a year-long journey. Before they could begin, they first had to be introduced to each other, to the program, and to the city they would soon come to call home. For five days, Fellows immersed themselves in activities spanning team building, guest speakers, design thinking, neighborhood tours, and community engagement.

One week later, here are six lessons the Challenge Detroit Fellows are ready to apply to their upcoming year in the 313:

1. Now’s the time to take a leap of faith.

Perched atop a wooden ledge suspended 40 feet in the air, each Fellow was encouraged to take a “Leap of Faith” – to jump off the ledge in hopes of grabbing onto a metal bar just out of reach. It was symbolic that we did this activity, along with many others amidst a high ropes course at Walled Lake Outdoor Education Center, on our very first day of Bootcamp.

For many, we are starting a new phase of life in Detroit. For all, we are starting a new Detroit adventure. Now’s the time for us to take risks, try new things and push ourselves out of our comfort zones as we embrace the city. Through it all, the community of Fellows and the greater Detroit community will serve as our safety harness, supporting us on our exciting journey.

Taking the Leap of Faith at Walled
Lake Outdoor Education Center

2. There is strength in diversity.

As we learned through individual introductory presentations, each of the 35 Challenge Detroit Fellows are incredibly unique. We differ widely with regards to background, geographic regions, age, experience, interests, and even phobias (one Fellow – we won’t mention any names – disclosed to the group her serious phobia of bananas… who knew!).

We come from Michigan and Alabama and Oregon and Montreal; we’ve studied public policy and law and environmental science and economics; we’ve worked for government and hedge funds and non-profits and start-ups. What binds us together is a passion for Detroit.

This year, we will draw on each others’ strengths, experiences and unique perspectives as we tackle pressing issues and opportunities facing Detroit.

Smiling, happy Fellows

3.The city’s neighborhoods are expansive, varied, and brimming with possibilities.

For many of us, our geographic experiences in Detroit have been fairly limited. D:hive’s Detroit Experience Factory’s neighborhood tour was thus not only welcome but highly anticipated. As we rode through pockets of the city from Brightmoor to the Livernois Corridor to Southwest, we met activists and organizers who have generated innovative solutions for their respective communities. For example, Brightmoor’s residents decided to combat blight and empty lots by painting murals on abandoned houses and harvesting bountiful community gardens. We were reminded by a Brightmoor community leader of the neighborhood’s values and resilience when she told us,“our issues are our assets.” Seeing the assets and possibilities inspired us to begin reimagining our own neighborhoods in Detroit.

Community garden in Brightmoor

4. It starts with listening.     

Throughout our Orientation, we were privileged to listen to a number of esteemed speakers who have lived, worked, played, given and led in Detroit for several decades. We heard insights from community leaders, Deputy Mayor Ike McKinnon, President of the Detroit Regional Chamber Sandy Baruah, and from the Presidents and CEOs of the Detroit Lions, Marketing Associates and Tech Town, among others. We also had the opportunity to participate in a Livernois SOUP – a community micro-funding event where attendees enjoy a delicious meal and support creative projects.

This year, we as Fellows (particularly those of us from outside the ‘D’) must check our assumptions and preconceived ideas of Detroit at the proverbial door, and focus on listening to the stories, perspectives and needs of those around us. We each have loads to learn – about Detroit’s storied past, complex present, and promising future. As Charlie Beckham, Director of Detroit’s Department of Neighborhoods, put it, “being a good leader is being part of the people”.

5. We can all be design thinkers!

How often do you use empathy to assess a trash can? Our guess would be not too often.

That was the challenge presented to us by Kacha Azema and Drew Patrick from Skidmore Studios to introduce us to design thinking. In the creative space of Repair the World’s workshop, Drew and Kacha guided us through the stages of this user-oriented, authenticity-driven design approach.

Putting our design thinking to the test, we developed new trash cans that addressed some of the most common (and oft overlooked) issues with existing products. And while solving trash cans’ design problems was certainly fun, we were grateful to experience a creative solution first-hand through the Motor City Mapping Project. The Project addressed the City’s need for up-to-date blight documentation by developing a user-friendly mobile “Blexting” app (a hybrid of “blight” and “texting”), through which Detroiters can upload photos and information about the state of the properties in their communities. During Boot Camp, we used the app to “blext” in the Jefferson Mack neighborhood, supporting the efforts of the Detroit Blight Elimination Task Force.

Fellow “blexting” a property in Jefferson Mack

Energized from volunteering with the Motor City Mapping Project, we look forward to applying our design thinking skills in this year’s upcoming Challenge Detroit projects!

6. Detroit’s future is bold.

Through a presentation by Dan Kinkead of Detroit Future City, we began envisioning Detroit’s future over the next 50 years. How will Detroit’s landscapes look? What will its population be? What will drive its economy? Where do we fit in? While we do not have the exact answers, we soon realized there is a place for each of us in Detroit’s future, and that that future will be unlike any city in the world.

Alice Thompson, CEO of Black Family Development, Inc. said to us, “You are in the right place at the right time”. Standing in a circle at Lenox Park on the Detroit River with the current and alumni Fellows from two years past, this never felt more true. We are here, and now is the time to help shape Detroit’s bright future.

Past and current Fellows gathered in Alfred Brush Ford Park

As Detroiter Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”.  

With five jam-packed days of Orientation having brought us together, we can’t wait to work together in what is sure to be an exciting, exhilarating and exhausting (in the best way!) journey. Stay tuned as we share our Challenge Detroit experiences with you this year!