Universities can be big partners in building up cities, Model D Speaker Series presenters say

There are a lot of higher education institutions here in Detroit, but what role can and should these institutions play in building up the city? That's the question we posed at our speaker series last week at the Westin Book Cadillac.

The speakers included Kevin Stolarick, research director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and who works closely with "Creative Class" guru Richard Florida, and Robin Boyle, a professor and chair of WSU's urban studies and planning program.

Stolarick said the university and the community have to find a way to connect.

"The university does stuff, the university does all kinds of interesting, cool things," Stolarick said. "The university is transmitting all this stuff. But it's doing it at a certain frequency. And if the local community has its receiver turned to a different frequency it doesn't pick it up … They aren't listening to each other, they aren't connected."

And yet it's not just tuning into the wrong channel. Stolarick said universities tend to stick to their ivory tower, which can further remove them from the community. The walls of the ivory tower need to be torn down, but the city, business leaders and the community must be part of the process.

"It's not just the about the university," Boyle said, "it's about the community that is anchored to use these institutions."

Boyle says that the density exists in Midtown for something special to happen. WSU can be an anchor in Midtown to help bridge further revitalization, but it needs glue. Glue could come from organizations like the University Culture Center Association, projects like the M1 Rail, and something simple like more retail.

"We gotta get some shopping here 'cause that's what people do," Boyle says. "Saturday afternoon, most people in the world look and see what they've got in their wallet, get on the bus or train or the car ... and they go downtown to shop. They might not buy much but they look around, hang around and talk to their friends, go for a drink, they decide to stay and have something to eat, get drunk and go home. That's how city's operate." He says Detroit has to get to that level.

Boyle says that WSU can help create this but can't do it alone. It'll require everyone. Above all we'll "need commitment, leadership, and investment."

Writer: Terry Parris Jr.