The biggest lesson I learned from the past few weeks is to bridge the data with ground knowledge. While we could collect data from many sources profiling the entrepreneurs or describing our impacts, the feedbacks from entrepreneurs themselves is the ultimate source to understand the reality on the ground. For example, creating commercial spaces might …
I just finished a site visit with my coworkers today. We went to one of our past graduate’s fashion businesses BeHer, a boutique store aimed to empower women. It is a very meaningful experience. For me, I learned why neighborhood and economic development organizations have been so attentive on sending business into physical locations despite …
In the past week, I learned a lot from my assigned researches about the Detroit demographic and economic development non-profit landscape. My co-workers and I did a deep dive into Detroit immigrant population to assist with ProsperUs immigrant fellowship application. I noticed through census data that two neighborhoods close to Dearborn and Hamtramck has absorbed …
This has been a really hectic week, but really fulfilling. I went back to Ann Arbor and almost missed my bus to come back 🙂 Anyway I found a really cool hat at Eastern Market during the Juneteenth Festival, and for the first time learned about its history in depth. I also went a little …
Literally rushing to get it in before the contemporary art museum visit. I am researching with ProsperUs this summer! ProsperUs is a community development financial institution. It provides micro-lending services, entrepreneurship training and other business assistance to prospective entrepreneurs in Detroit, who lack accessibility to traditional banking services. ProsperUs puts equity at the center of …
Hi everyone, this is Chen writing under the big double rainbow (cr. to Caitlin who first spotted it)! I am planning to work in urban planning and policy, so Detroit definitely provides an opportunity to engage with these topics in a real-world context. I am working with ProsperUs, a micro-lending organization, this summer. They are …
