Week 3

Overall in both my community organization and within the Detroit area I’ve noticed the prevalence of power dynamics and a constant struggle to gain change them. In my community organization it’s a constant battle against DTE Energy. The past few weeks we have been working to get ready for a greenhouse gas inventory in Ypsilanti. Essentially this is just a measure of greenhouse gas emissions that are being released by the city. By doing this, the city can determine the levels of emissions they are producing and take measures to reduce these emissions with projects like increased public transportation or a recycling initiative. While this inventory seems beneficial for the city of Ypsilanti, DTE has previously made this a very difficult process. In 2012 during the last GHG inventory, they were incredibly slow to respond, even to the point that some energy use information was never delivered meaning that the numbers had to be roughly estimated rather than measured accurately. Additionally, for the inventory that we have begun working on for 2019, DTE has already shown signs of hesitancy to cooperate. Many of my supervisors who have tried to contact them have had a very difficult time making any progress. I believe that the reason DTE is able to get away with being so inconsistent is due to their status as only one of a few energy suppliers in the Detroit area. They are well aware that they are the only ones who can provide the information that we need, and additionally, if the city of Ypsilanti decides to incorporate significant energy efficiency measures it means their electric bill will be lower resulting in less money for DTE.

The city of Detroit is experiencing a similar power struggle. The more time I spend in Detroit the more I realize significant skewed distribution of power, specifically in favor of Dan Gilbert, Mike Ilitch, and other wealthy individuals in the city. Despite being only two individuals within a city of almost 700,000, Gilbert and Ilitch have significant influence over the decisions that are made within the city, and possess a disproportionate amount of wealth and property. As a result, there seems to be many citizens of the city who see Gilbert and Ilitch’s business ventures as harmful due to the economic consequences and neglect for existing culture. As a result, there are many individuals who are seeking to take some of that power back and reveal the harm that these two individuals are actually doing. While I think that I agree with that concept, I also recently learned that Gilbert’s company is one of the largest employers in the city, and they’re responsible for employing 17,000 Detroiters downtown. However, I’m not sure if these employees are Detroit natives or individuals that Gilbert brought with him. Regardless, the amount of power and influence that these two people have seems dangerous and something to keep in check.

After a week of working and learning about the darker side of Detroit, a couple other students in DCBRP and I decided to go to Belle Isle and relax and enjoy the nice weather which is what you’re seeing in the picture below. The island provides a gorgeous view of the Detroit skyline and it’s also a great spot to watch the sunset. I brought a speaker and so we were able to just sit in the grass, listen to music, and watch as the city shifted from day to night. It was an incredibly relaxing evening and a great way to get to know some of the other members of the program.