The seminars every Tuesday helped put our work this summer in the context of the city as a whole. We spend most of our time outside of work in Midtown, so sometimes we can lose sight of what is actually happening in the city and our mission to serve Detroiters.<\/p>\n
The seventh week seminar was a presentation by Amy Krings, a recent PhD graduate, who discussed her dissertation. She worked in southwest Detroit, where the new bridge to Canada will be built. Her work centered around community benefits agreements (CBAs), which allow communities to receive some benefit in return for new and possible unwanted development in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
Dr. Krings questioned whether or not CBAs are even effective at protecting communities and their values, and also why it so difficult to even obtain one.<\/p>\n
Throughout her discourse, Dr. Krings frequently mentioned active players in the fights for CBAs. Many of them, such as the Moroun family and Mayor Duggan, I was aware of. But then she mentioned Detroit Future City.<\/p>\n
Where we stand depends on where we sit, so throughout my time in this program I had rarely – if ever – heard much criticism about my placement. She mentioned how in what is essential DFC’s Holy Bible, the Detroit Strategic Framework, we recommend a 50-year land use vision for the city. The backbone of this vision consists of seven employment districts and the consolidation of residents into the highest density neighborhoods. This means that scarcely populated communities, such as Delray, where the new bridge will be built, could be left behind, abandoned, and turned into open space.<\/p>\n
Naturally, this criticism of the organization I devoted my past eight weeks to was simply alarming. I immediately began to rethink all of the work I had been doing for Detroit Future City. This forced me to evaluate what I am doing to help the city of my birth and the city I love.<\/p>\n
I eventually came to the conclusion that my work with them does and will continue to benefit the people of Detroit. Whether or not any of my work contributes to the 50-year land use vision – and whether or not I even agree with that proposal – I have always made sure that I had the people of Detroit in mind. One of the main focuses of my work has been writing “local examples” for DFC’s soon-to-be-released Field Guide to Working with Lots. The local examples provide inspiration for Detroiters about open space transformation projects already being done in the city, state, and nation. These articles compliment the rest of the Field Guide, which includes step-by-step instructions and resources for residents to transform open space in their neighborhoods into whatever they envision it.<\/p>\n
That empowering of residents is what I signed up for. Even though that seminar made me doubt, question, and reconsider everything I had worked toward this summer, I think it actually improved my understanding of Detroit and the possible consequences of forgetting about those we are supposed to serve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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