Featured Stories

Overcoming a bad rep: Detroit and Rouge River headed for recovery

Kirk Haverkamp Thursday, March 24, 2016

How much can you really clean up and restore waterways that have been subjected to more than a century of intense industrialization and urbanization? In the case of the Rouge and Detroit rivers, there has been definite progress.

Areas of Concern, Great Lakes Stewardship, Green, Life Sciences, Public Policy

Detroit's civic funding scene gets crowded

Nina Ignaczak Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Community organizers and entrepreneurs have more choice than ever when it comes to asking the public for funding. But is the landscape getting 'crowded'? Nina Ignaczak digs in to find out what's going on in the world of civic crowdfunding in Detroit.

Building Communities, Detroit, Entrepreneurs, Fundraising, Small Business

Commuting to school with a "Famous" student

Matthew Dibble Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Detroit public students students often have no other choice but to wake up hours before school starts to ride a city bus (or two) on their long morning commute. Matt Dibble shares his thoughts after following one "Famous" student.

Detroit, Education and training, Michigan Nightlight, Transit

Parking lot Gerry

Michele Oberholtzer Tuesday, March 15, 2016

A portrait of a Detroit parking attendant who's been keeping vigil on the same block in New Center for the last 30 years.

Detroit, Sense of Place

New Center

Anu Rangarajan, Cornell Univesity; Nicola Binns, Marlboro-Essex Community Garden; and Lorenzo Herron Detroit Urban Farmers Network

7 ways to build a healthy food system in Detroit

Nina Ignaczak Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Ideas from the sixth annual summit of the Detroit Food Policy Council, which took place last week.

Building Communities, Detroit, Food and Drink, Sustainability, Transformational change

Students listen to an instructor at the Detroit Training Center

How a startup training center is rebuilding Detroit's workforce

Matthew Lewis Tuesday, March 15, 2016

The Detroit Training Center has graduated over 1,500 students since it launched in 2012. According to Marcus Jones, DTC's director, graduates find jobs paying anywhere between $12 and $40 an hour, depending on the field.

Detroit, Education and training, Entrepreneurs, Motor City Match, Small Business, Workforce/Talent development

Karla Henderson's varied career in Detroit leadership

Nicole Rupersburg Monday, March 14, 2016

Karla Henderson is the Chief Operating Officer of the Wright Museum, a position in which she leverages her background in city planning, community engagement, and nonprofit management to grow this important cultural institution.

Arts, Detroit Talent, Museums

Midtown

City and country: How metro Detroiters enjoy the best of both worlds

Laura Herberg Tuesday, March 08, 2016

From urban neighborhoods to woods and water, southeast Michigan has it all. Model D's Laura Herberg and Marissa Gawel show us how metro Detroiters take advantage of it in the photo-audio-essay.

Lifestyle, Sports

Guisa Suttle and Maria Fernandez glazzing and fitting glass at Turner Restoration's workshop

Meet the Detroiter whose historic restoration skills are in demand around the country

MJ Galbraith Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Jim Turner has been working in historic restoration since 1988, when he purchased his home in Detroit's Arden Park-East Boston Historic District.

Architecture, Detroit, Entrepreneurs, Reuse / Rebuild, Small Business

Steve Neavling, investigative reporter and founder of the Motor City Muckraker

These Detroit-area journalists are breaking big stories...without the backing of major news outlets

Patrick Dunn Tuesday, March 08, 2016

These guys aren't playing by the rules of traditional journalism. They're re-writing them.

Detroit, Transformational change

We, the people, of the United Cities of America

Claire Nelson Tuesday, March 08, 2016

We urban folk are more alike than we are different, and might benefit from listening and learning more from one another. That's the conversation we look forward to hosting at the Urban Consulate, a new experiment launching this spring in Detroit, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.

Building Communities, Detroit, Lifestyle, Social Networking

Midtown

Terry Schwarz

Nicole Rupersburg Monday, March 07, 2016

Terry Schwarz is the Director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, a combined urban design graduate program and urban design practice nonprofit that uses planning and design to address social issues in neighborhoods throughout Northeast Ohio.

Grace Bedell's letter to President Lincoln encouraging him to grow his whiskers

The hidden treasures of Detroit Public Library's special collections

Amy Kuras Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Original manuscripts by Mark Twain and Laura Ingalls Wilder, George Washington's diary, and some of the earliest writing ever can be found in the special collections of the Detroit Public Library.

Arts, Detroit

Midtown

Escalators in Medellin's Comuna no 13 San Javier neighborhood

Designing the equitable city: A conversation about the value of local and global exchange

Nina Bianchi & Graig Donnelly Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Detroit and Medellin, Columbia, are very different cities, but there's a lot they can learn from one another when it comes to involving citizens in equitable development.

Architecture, Building Communities, Detroit, Development, Sense of Place, Transformational change

Torri Lynn Ashford with a puppet at Matrix Theatre

Matrix Theatre Company celebrates 25 years of performance, community, and social justice

David Sands Tuesday, February 23, 2016

As a part of its silver anniversary celebration, Matrix is putting on a production of "agua de luna," a bilingual work by award-winning playwright Caridad Svich.

Arts, Building Communities, Detroit, Performing Arts

Southwest Detroit, Mexicantown