D3's proposal for council districts, weighs in on bus rapid transit

Yes, that's right, we have a full court press on to try to drive the correct decision in creating reasonable and equitable Detroit City Council districts. Read Free Press editor Stephen Henderson's take here.

In its current newsletter, Data Driven Detroit asks these three vital questions about the Detroit City Council district options created by the City Planning Commission:

1. Are any neighborhoods or historic areas split between two or more districts? If so, residents and community organizations must rely on multiple Council members to represent their neighborhood. That makes it more difficult to hold any single member responsible for that neighborhood issues.

2. Are any neighborhoods grouped into districts with distant or dissimilar neighborhoods? If so, the focus of that district’s Council member will be divided between neighborhoods with significantly different interests and concerns.

3. Are any place-based long-term public or private investment areas split between two or more districts?If so, businesses, investors, and government programs must rely on multiple Council members to support their interests. Splitting investment areas makes impact more complex, difficult, and harder to demonstrate.

Read the entire report here. After you dig into that, check out D3's report on another pressing issue, bus rapid transit.