Opportunity Knocks

Last Wednesday community development organizations, foundations, city and government officials, and financial institutions joined together at the annual spring community development conference in Detroit. The topic was – A New Direction for Neighborhood Development in Detroit. The day included a presentation from Alan Mallach of the Brookings Institute on what Detroit can do to create more sustainable communities.

Alan presented information on the decline in Detroit’s population, housing, and employment.

One of Alan’s suggestions to solve this situation was to develop the city as urban villages and green spaces connected by transit and surrounding a central urban core (picture below).  In his view, this would help cut down on expenses and allow communities to develop their individual assets.

Alan also spoke of the opportunities presented by the growing green economy and the possibility that urban agriculture could become a large commercial opportunity for the city.

The city of Detroit has already begun to move in a more sustainable direction. In December Detroit opened the Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) within the Mayor’s Office. The director of the OES, Rick Bowers, spoke at the conference about the city’s plans and openness to move in a more sustainable direction – by developing green collar jobs, improving the energy efficiency of city buildings, developing recycling, and facilitating the growth of urban agriculture. You can see their web page here.

The fall conference is October 28, 2009 – get ready to discuss some more exciting topics.