Placemaking and communty-oriented development can take a lot of different forms. Here are three minority-led Detroit development efforts that are putting community up front in their work.
Transit in Metro Detroit costs low-income people of color disproportionately more in terms of costs, travel time, and access to their jobs or job opportunities. COVID has made it worse, but these are longstanding problems— and proposed responses would require political will to implement them.
The pandemic's mental health impacts are expected to remain for the long term – and many of Michigan’s communities, mental health professionals, and researchers are already preparing to address them.
"Especially during the pandemic, children need a way to get those big emotions out. They’ve been affected just as adults have," says Laura Scales, executive director at Living Arts. "The arts can heal and transform. I want to give youth a way to dance it out, sing it out, draw it out and write it out."
Ever heard of a climate resilience hub? After Michigan's flooding issues this year, hubs for community members to go for assistance, especially during a natural emergency, are growing in number and strength in Metro Detroit and the city itself. They're getting noticed. Reporter David Sands investigates what kind of impact they may have on our future, and who is making them happen.
In a little over a decade, a small faith-based nonprofit has grown into a charitable powerhouse on Detroit's East Side. Now it's navigating the pandemic while remaining focused on core principles.
“From arts organizations that anchor a neighborhood to ones that anchor a region, these creative businesses make significant contributions to the economic health and growth of communities,” says Omari Rush, executive director of CultureSource.
“One of my favorite things about Detroit is its hustle, the amazing energy it exudes. You see it all around you, but especially in the creativity of Detroit’s artists and art organizations. We certainly saw it in these winning ideas,” says Victoria Rogers, Knight Art’s program vice president.
The rising cost of building materials is pressuring minority developers and contractors in Detroit to become more resourceful than ever. Here's how they're responding to the situation.
“Fight. Always, everywhere. For every inch of your living. Against anyone and anything that tries to make you less than. You will be afraid and hope will often leave you stranded at the station with no fare, but fight anyway. Your life — your living — depends on it,” says poet John Jeffire. Here are five Metro Detroit writers, including Jeffire, who are inspiring us right now.
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