A reflection of my first week

The Michigan Suburbs Alliance is a non-profit that has four main areas of focus: building vibrant cities, engaging future leaders, turning the rustbelt green and metropolitan mobility. The Suburbs Alliance works to build a metro Detroit that is economically prosperous, environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. A metro Detroit where residents and observers see the region as a vibrant healthy and beautiful community, preferred place to live, work, and play. A metro Detroit that is a highly functioning region with active, intense and relevant forms of intergovernmental cooperation and a metro Detroit where regional governance has a diverse group of residents actively involved in municipal and regional affairs.

Advocating for stronger regional transit is one of the Suburb Alliance’s main focuses. My project, The Gold on Woodward: Advocating for World-Class Transit in Metro Detroit, will work to further support The Suburbs Alliance in their mission. In the coming weeks, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) will announce the Locally Preferred Alternative, or LPA, which will propose a system design of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along Woodward Avenue from Detroit to Pontiac. My job is to analyze the LPA in the context of the Gold Standard, which is the highest standard a BRT can be held too. In order to evaluate the LPA, I have to first understand and research other BRT systems to provide context and background for potential strategies and impacts to advocate for any necessary improvements to the LPA’s plan. For the past week and a half, I have been researching BRT systems and familiarizing myself with them and with the Gold Standard. Although I currently feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I have yet to learn, my passion for the project continues to grow and I truly do enjoy the work I am doing.

In addition to the amazing work The Suburbs Alliance does, their workspace is awesome. It is very open, naturally lit, and colorful. We even have a wall that we can use as a white board for meetings and generating ideas. Check out Noor’s blog if you want to see more; I’m assuming she’ll have some pictures posted since she took so many today :p.

            So far, I’ve really enjoyed living in Detroit. However, I am aching to do more things in and around the city. I’ve been running down Woodward and into Midtown a couple of times. I’ve also explored Cass’s Corridor and taken mental notes of all the art galleries I see and intend to visit. Conan Smith, the Executive Director of the Suburbs Alliance, took Noor, Carmen, Ryan and I out to gelato last night and talked with us till 10:30 that evening (so cool, right!?). My list of things to do includes Eastern Market, Mexican Town, DIA, art galleries and painting classes. In addition to exploring Detroit, I would love to spend a little more time in Ferndale, where the Suburbs Alliance is located. Ferndale is decorated with gay pride flags, organic food markets, great coffee shops, and art galleries. I hope to take painting classes in Ferndale and check out a few restaurants with my carpool, which I must say, is another major highlight of my first week and a half.