The Detroit Works Project was introduced by Mayor Dave Bing in 2010 as a process to create a shared, achievable vision for our future that would serve as a guide to help improve the physical, social and economic landscape of our city.
It started with meetings to engage residents in a discussion about our city’s future. We connected with about 10,000 of you who told us for Detroit to work; action is needed today while we continue to plan for tomorrow.
Then, in
July of 2011 Mayor Dave Bing introduced the Short Term Actions strategy of the Detroit Works Project and announced he separated the project into two tracks—Short Term Actions and
Long Term Planning.
Today, the Long Term Planning for the project is being done outside of city hall and is being led by a steering committee who oversees the work of the technical and civic engagement teams. They are charged with developing meaningful and inclusive engagement strategies to gather the expertise of the community and combined it with the technical analysis; and then produce a strategic framework plan for our future by August 2012.
City leaders are directing the Short Term Actions work; a process using data about Detroit neighborhoods to guide decisions about how to best to leverage resources and make adjustments to how some city services are delivered today.
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Neighborhood Analysis, a study that reviewed the condition of the city’s housing stock; vacant land and homes; the median sales prices of homes; and other factors, was conducted and identified Detroit neighborhoods fall into three different market-types:
Steady, Transitional and Distressed.
The data provided city officials with new information to help them determine how they could utilize the city’s limited resources in a new way to make the most positive impact possible; starting with three parts of the community called
Demonstration Areas.
In the Demonstration Areas, the city is applying a market-based approach to how it delivers some services and leverages some of its resources; and is working closely with the CDCs, nonprofits, block clubs, and churches to gain greater knowledge about the specific services and resources they feel are necessary and how to best align them based on the market conditions.
Progress on how the market conditions are changing is being tracked in the Demonstration Areas; and adjustments will then be made, if necessary, to the actions being taken to ensure the right approach is being used to build market strength and improve the conditions.
The Short Term Actions in the interim will be able to affect change in the neighborhoods, improve how some city services are delivered; and the results of the progress being made with the Short Term Actions will help to inform the Long Term Planning.