The Nortown Community Development Corporation (NCDC) is a non-profit organization with many different projects. The corporation has ninety-five affordable housing units that are managed and rented, heads projects to restore historical landmarks like the Norris House and the Conner Creek and organizes many community development projects to build parks and business associations. On any typical day, there will be five individuals (other than myself) in the office. As a new member of the team, I have a lot of learning and observing to do.
I hope to assist the NCDC with their numerous projects and daily tasks, but my summer research project has to do with the plan for the Conner Creek Greenway. This planned natural path is meant to follow Conner Creek as it flows through Northeast Detroit (this is Detroit’s third district) and continues all the way down to the Detroit River. It actually already exists in certain areas as a bike path, but it is not completed or widely known. There are challenges to consider and community perspectives to gather in order to understand this project as a genuine possibility. For example, one reality to keep in mind is that there is another greenway being planned by the city of Detroit named the Joe Louis Greenway. This greenway, unfortunately, leaves much of Detroit’s third district out, even though it follows a similar route. It is also gaining a lot of recognition and funding, which (in a way) makes it a competitor to the Conner Creek Greenway. Learning more about this situation will help me to try and create solutions. The final outcome I am supposed to bring forward is a feasibility portfolio, where I will compile all of the information I gain over the next few weeks and perhaps suggest some recommendations.
Outside of the Nortown CDC office, I have had a good time getting to know the other DCERP fellows and participating in the Tuesday/Thursday evening meetings! I appreciate how all the fellows share some interests, such as being willing and excited to work with local non-profits in the Detroit area. I also appreciate how everyone brings a slightly varied point of view. All the fellows have different majors and professional goals, which make it interesting to hear about their work and passions. I’m excited to get to know everyone more thoroughly and I hope to get a better idea of what everyone’s project is by reading the blogs for this week!
Hi Owen! I hadn’t heard of the Conner Creek Greenway before, and it sounds like an awesome project! I’ve also been spending most of my first couple weeks learning and observing at my site – there are so many skills to build and so much knowledge to gain. Looking forward to learning more about your research!