Detroit has made substantial investments into its parks, secured funding for a city loop greenway, and fostered partnerships to improve amenities. This map shows off a number of neighborhoods where access to greenspace is plentiful, but nearby cities like Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Downtown Detroit are lacking. Northwest Detroit is a the main standout in Detroit where improvements could be made. The Lodge cuts through some very densely populated neighborhoods and most parks in the area are relatively small. More from article: Using satellite imagery and data on dozens of factors — in ..read more

When the Detroit Free Press published their extensive PDF list of FOIAed disclosure statements from City of Detroit senior employees, Directors, Deputy Directors, Chiefs, and similar senior roles, I was fascinated by how little information was included in those disclosures as well as the wide range of regional home addresses. I present here and close the case for regional transit. The residence furthest South was in Dayton, OH (or Parkland, FL if you count second properties), the furthest North was in Grand Blanc, MI, and the furthest West was in Eaton Rapids, MI. If this is the spread where ..read more

5,525 homes where official owner was deceased (Michigan Public) 11 million DDOT riders in 2023 (DDOT) 9% Detroit home owners are uninsured (Consumer Federation of America) 400 workers Stellantis let hundreds go in mass firing event (FOX 2 ..read more

Back in 2015, Loveland Technologies, now ReGrid, listened to the scanner from January to July and visited hundreds of fires to survey the impact on property and people. There were 2,938 structure damaging fires surveyed with 58% under suspicious circumstances or arson. The hot spots really stood out to me as areas facing high levels of crime and areas on the fringes of population centers in the city ..read more

The “flight obstruction area” comprises all areas of land or water below the airport referenced imaginary surfaces for each airport. Since its beginning, the Detroit City Airport has continued to gobble up residential space in the name of development, but also safety. In the recent budget presentations, the City Airport Director said they condemned 35 additional residential properties. The upcoming NFL Draft event is also expected to bring 120 private planes while Detroit Metro Airport (Romulus) expects 290 private planes. A major air traffic influx, but it’s yet to be seen if there will be a ..read more

Join us in shaping the future of Detroit! Attend upcoming DON meetings for a virtual kickoff of the city’s Master Plan update. Let’s go forward together. #PlanDetroit ..read more

I’ve been digging through my archives and came across a set of maps I made while working for the Detroit Health Department (DHD). It seems a good time to share now that DPSCD is launching health hubs with funding support from the Pistons. School absenteeism is a widespread and known issue among the Detroit school age population. The factors and causes are numerous and variable, but broadly Detroiters face many barriers and that is not news. This map from 2017 highlights some of the more child-focused neighborhoods where both WIC enrollment is high and school absenteeism is high. That is partl ..read more

by: Gene Estrada, Detroit River Story Lab, University of Michigan This map was created by the Detroit River Story Lab at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Our goal is to estimate the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., create an emissions inventory) for the Detroit River Corridor. We created this online, interactive map as an accessible tool for anyone interested in understanding carbon emissions at a local level. We are currently working with local educators in Detroit-area schools to include the use of this tool in school curricula.  To create this map, we co ..read more

38% increase in police complaints between 2022 and 2023 (BOPC) 6° increase in Detroit’s average temperature (Climate Central) 149,192 households to lose affordable internet access (FCC) 1,000 locations participating in the controversial Project Green Light program. (DPD ..read more

The National Monument Audit by Monument Lab revealed that there are just two “monuments” dedicated to African Americans out of nearly 130 monuments documented. Joe Louis Fist Martin Luther King Jr. scuplture You could add the new MLK statue at Hart Plaza and the underground railroad feature at the riverfront by Hart Plaza, but still that’s only four. The Martin Luther King Jr. statue was just installed last year and was a left over statue from the Smithsonian. It feels rather absurd that a city that grew to be majority Black or African American has so few monuments dedicated to the people w ..read more