DCBRP 2015

Detroit is a sprawling city. Because of its decline, Detroit is also pretty vacant. Places to go, whether for groceries, movies, or anything besides art are few and far between. What I’m getting at is that Detroit is not a city you can walk in. It was built for cars. I probably would not get […]

Hello all. The last few weeks at DFA have been hectic, but also very exciting! The DFA students are wonderful, charismatic, and welcoming. This week was the final part of the student orientation process, so now the MADNESS begins! Thankfully, we finally started the interviewing process for our “Storytellers” project and their video interviews are

These last few weeks has helped me become even more conscious of my identities and how my daily life is affected by them. I can describe the plights of the black queer woman with ease, but some of my identities have become more salient throughout the duration of the program. For one, as many people know,

So far I have really enjoyed this program and my placement. Working at Metro Matters has really allowed me to develop a deeper interest and understanding for my major. I am really excited to get back to Ann Arbor and utilize some of the skills, and design skills/ toolsets I have gained from working here.

Recently, I have realized that the mainstream portrayal of Detroit is staggering in its scale of hypocrisy and incoherence. I have been always bombarded by the view that Detroit was extremely wealthy in the first half of the 20th century. However, little is ever said of the racism, inequality, and corporate predominance at the time. Little is said

Detroit is my hometown. It holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I come back home I feel a sense of belonging and connection from the people to the streets. More specifically I am from the Osborn community located in Northeast Detroit or District 3. The Osborn community is one of the hardest hit

A couple weeks ago, I had the awesome opportunity to accompany my supervisors on a bus tour throughout the Osborn neighborhood. As a designated Skillman Good Neighborhood, it has seen some increased investment in the last few years. This bus tour was more or less a part of that, organized by a consulting firm who is

Hello, This program has really gotten me thinking in the past week. Specifically about what I want to do from nine to five for 35-40 years of my life. And wow are my answers different from what they would of been a short six weeks ago. Just six weeks ago, I would of been more

I cannot believe that we are already more than halfway through this program. I feel like we have not been here that long, but then I realize all of the facts and information that I have learned about Detroit since coming here, and I realize that it has been a great deal of time. I have

The past few weeks, I’ve been spending some of my time at work looking at how the media portrays Detroit’s revitalization and why that matters. According to the most recent census, 64 percent of Detroit’s businesses are Black-owned, but many residents are concerned that media narratives from both national and local sources surrounding Detroit’s resurgence mostly