“The road is too damn wide!”
(Motto for the People First Project by CEDC)

Michigan Avenue needs a facelift and Joe and I are helping make that happen. Michigan Avenue is a street that runs through Corktown, the most historical district of Detroit, splitting it in half. The nine-lane highway takes what could have (and would have otherwise) become a pedestrian and cyclist’s destination and turned it into a auto-centered drive-by, where the highway is the center of attention.

Historically, this makes sense. Because Detroit was the auto-capital of the US, roads formed the center of everything, whether they be cities or simple residential neighborhoods. Thus, when Corktown was being developed, a whopping nine-lane highway was inserted in the middle, cutting the district in half. Today, Corktown is divided by a few different major highways into residential and industrial sectors (these divisions are informal and not properly delineated).

At the Corktown Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), Joe and I are working on a Place Plan of Corktown as our main project and focus area. The goal of our Place Plan is to delineate various sectors (or general areas) of the Corktown region based on different  features, such as economic development, residential life, socioeconomic status, level of education, etc. In the end, these factors will all play a role in the redevelopment of this specific area of the city. By gathering information and preferences from Corktown residents, we will be able to assign various parameters (associated with each description) values. All of these will factor into the final calculation of a Place Plan that accounts for al (or at least most) of the residents’ preferences. Currently, the CEDC is partnered up with the city of Detroit and Human Scale Studios to develop the Place Plan that we are submitting. 

How will this impact the city? Not only will Detroit have a redeveloped area that can help in economic revitalization for the city as a whole, but also Corktown can become a prime destination for locals and tourists alike. Brimming with prime real estate (due to proximity to downtown and historical value), a refurbished Corktown is bound to attract investment and other opportunities. 

Currently, Corktown serves as more of a connector between downtown and other areas of Detroit. However, once a new Place Plan is developed, the idea of another Corktown can come to fruition. Our Place Plan will serve as the vision, and the city of Detroit will make it a reality.

On the first day of work at TechTown, we sat down with our supervisor Betsy, eagerly awaiting to hear all of the wonderful tasks we would be completing over the next two months. However, we soon learned that although Betsy expected us to complete a couple general projects over the course of the summer, we were not expected to come into work by a certain time, leave work at a certain time, or even work strictly in the TechTown work place. At first, this seemed completely absurd to me. Wouldn’t this allow Mabel and I to slack off whenever we want, work on completely unrelated projects without our supervisors knowing, or even arbitrarily decide not to come into work one day? 

Luckily, for the sake of TechTown and for the sake of DukeEngage, the answer to those questions was no. It wasn’t because we simply wanted to show that we were responsible Duke students, or because we had good work ethic. It was because our work in Detroit had a much bigger picture- to help the thousands of unemployed by revitalizing the Detroit economy.

The flexibility given to Mabel and me at TechTown allowed us to take initiative, gaining major roles in the assistance of the CityInsight, one of TechTown’s incubation clients, as well as creating economic impact reports to track TechTown’s influence on the Detroit community. Of course this flexibility also came with its drawbacks. At times Mabel and I were offered little guidance as to how to proceed. We’ve inputted hundreds of names and emails into an out-of-date database, gotten conflicting recommendations from different supervisors, and shifted through numbers and metrics that we honestly aren’t even sure are credible. It is in these times that it’s so easy to become frustrated, disregard the kind-hearted nature of TechTown’s wonderful staff, and forget about the bigger picture of our work here in Detroit. But these frustrations have allowed me to realize a truth as well-sometimes you really can’t have everything your own way. Especially in the workplace, there are realistic limitations to the tasks you can complete. 

With that in mind, Mabel and I now have a much more accurate outlook on the things we can accomplish at TechTown in the next 5 weeks. Although our idea of the economic impact reports has pivoted from simply an internal recommendation report to an additional public relations marketing tool based on the direction of our supervisors, we are now more determined than ever to produce something tangible, deliverable, and usable at the end of these 8 weeks. 
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In spite of these major frustrations, there is much to be hopeful for. CityInsight will be directly implementing our market research, competitive analysis, sales sheet, and executive summary revisions into pitches in front of major investors as well as in the launching of their product CityWater in August. DTX Launch Detroit will receive numerical, data-driven analysis of the program’s successes in creating jobs, companies, and new technologies for the Detroit and greater Michigan community. TechTown as a whole will have a new marketing handbook to give out to potential investors and clients, detailing its economic impact and entrepreneurial successes from the past 5 years. With so many exciting things ahead of us, I can’t help but feel determined, enthusiastic, and proud to be part of the movement to rebuild Detroit. 

It's easy to get lost in day-to-day activities. Wake up. Brush teeth. Make breakfast. East breakfast. Go to work or school or wherever. Get back home. Go to gym. Bed. Repeat. At times I will take a step back and question it all. What is my purpose in all of this? What am I really trying to achieve?

In doing so, I start to realize the importance of following a passion, something that you genuinely care about. Something that makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself. I'm not at all going to pretend like I have found my deepest, most authentic passion, because I haven't. But what I can say is that I am trying to.

At the risk of sounding annoying by bringing this up so much, travel has given me a great perspective on all of this. I was able to see prosperous and happy communities, and some that were struggling to get to that point. I started to narrow down what I felt was really needed in an environment to thrive. This came down to health and education, what I see as crucial foundations in any community. 

While abroad, I had the opportunity to teach English and view the immediate impact even surface level education provided. In tourist towns, this seemed like a valuable help to locals wanting to make some money being able to communicate with the visitors. I started to think about what large-scale, more professional education systems could do, picturing the growth of eLearning or other programs providing more than English classes. 

While my passions might change, I feel as though these two areas are ones I can see myself impacting in the future, and I am so thankful to be involved in an organization combining these. Working with Small Batch keeps me motivated on a level beyond day-to-day tasks. I feel like something bigger is going on, and I love being a part of it. 

The other day we had a group dinner at a pop-up restaurant in Corktown. I started talking to one of the student-employees for Small Batch. I asked her how she liked working there, and I was pleasantly surprised by her enthusiasm. She said it gave her exposure and experience in the culinary industry. She's now headed to NYU, and thanks one of the directors Jen Rusciano for playing a part in this. 

Just yesterday, I was at Eastern Market with my boss Jake, talking about the surrounding area. He was outlining what he saw for the future of Detroit, envisioning the immediate area as the central food district. I could tell it was some lofty hope, but a tangible future. 

It feels like something big is going on here at Small Batch and DFA, helping provide healthy food and valuable education to the Detroit community. As I get lost in the daily routine, I remember the larger impact at hand. 

During our first pre-departure gathering back in March, the cohort and I met with Katherine and Matt at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship office in Gross Hall for some pizza and introductions. Looking ahead at the program, I was beyond excited to begin working for a business accelerator with the goal of revitalizing Detroit. As we sat over our Enzo’s and sodas and shared our reasons for applying to DukeEngage Detroit, we all pretty much collectively agreed on one thing – we wanted to do our best to make an impact on the Detroit community and economy. At this very first get-together, Matt and Katherine explained to us that we would likely experience many frustrations in our efforts to achieve this goal because by nature, non-profits are very often disorganized and understaffed.

I don’t think I fully grasped the possibility of such frustration until today – literally. On our walk back from TechTown, Raymond and I agreed that today was truly the first day that we felt more frustrated than satisfied with our day at TechTown. Despite having definitely faced some roadblocks these past three weeks, every day we left feeling like we were making very good progress on our major project (the economic impact report for TechTown). Today, however, it just felt like we hit more roadblocks than usual – inconsistencies in our report data, difficulties in making decisions about our report’s design, and so on. As I reflect upon these last 3 weeks at TechTown and think about the next 5 weeks ahead and the deliverables we’ve set out to make, I don’t think this blog post could be better timed. It is definitely time to sit down and think deeply and carefully about the purpose of my project.

Raymond and I finalized this project a little less than a week into the program, and we were very excited about the possibility of helping assess TechTown’s impact. Though the first few days at TechTown were very chaotic in terms of settling down our project (we found out a major part of our original project had already been completed by last year’s interns, which required us to reassess our deliverables and think about what more we should do for TechTown), we came up with the idea of creating the impact report and quickly received very positive feedback from key people at TechTown, who said that such a report was overdue and necessary. We quickly immersed ourselves into the project and assigned ourselves major tasks to perform every day, including gathering and assessing data, interviewing key TechTown figures and companies, and writing content for the report.

In the last few days, and especially today, however, it became clear that despite the general ease (and occasional hiccups) in our day-to-day efforts, this project would be a lot more difficult to complete than we anticipated. We realized there were many inconsistences in the data we collected, the data reported in previous years’ reports, and the data that different employees at TechTown had. Additionally, we realized that if we wanted to produce a truly outstanding project, we would have to spend much time thinking about graphic design, something neither of us are particularly skilled in.

But I don’t mean to complain or lament my woes. Matt’s and Katherine’s words are really starting to ring clear in my head, and in recognizing some of TechTown’s difficulties and our project’s limitations, I’ve come to better understand what it is that we can actually accomplish for TechTown – something that I’m glad happened sooner rather than later. Originally, our idea of an impact report focused more on assessing TechTown holistically and honestly and making internal recommendations for change, but upon talking to multiple TechTown figures, we’ve realized that TechTown needs more than that. TechTown definitely needs and wants an impact report, but specifically, they need promotional or PR material for potential clients and investors. Despite my original hesitation to take on a “marketing” project, I realize now that in addition to better understanding ways it can improve and change, TechTown really does need a beautiful, physical impact report that highlights its past accomplishments and its vision for the future. As for ways that this project is affecting the city of Detroit, I believe that by assisting TechTown in its mission to serve more companies and communities, we are contributing to revitalizing Detroit’s community and economy.

So what’s next? I believe we’ve hit the most major roadblocks that we’ll face over these 8 weeks, though I know that there are more difficulties to come. But I’m excited by the prospect of continuing to learn and understand TechTown and Detroit’s needs, and I’m humbled to play a role in this ecosystem.

As a brief overview, Build Institute is a business accelerator program that offers 8-week intensive business planning courses that help rising entrepreneurs flesh out their business models. Additionally, Build offers workshops, networking events, and a broad alumni base that help connect entrepreneurs to resources such as other accelerators and sources of funding.

With next year marking the fifth anniversary of Build Institute's inception, Keiley and I have been tasked with the job of creating an economic impact report that investigates the impact Build has had on the greater Detroit area. Specifically, we are drawing on past alumni survey data to investigate total jobs created/retained by Build graduates, total businesses generated, and the intrinsic value versus retail price of Build Institute courses. Furthermore, we are also mapping out a more holistic scene of entrepreneurs in Detroit by tracing the paths of successful Build graduates. In looking at both the tangible and intangible data, we are then able to determine the scope of Build's impact.

However, with this summary of what we are doing now, it is quite interesting to see how our project has taken shape by adapting to the limited time, resources, and data we have at our disposal. I see our project as having started out as a slab of marble. Looking back on our first week at Build, the only end-game we could envision was some form of an economic impact report, which we had no clue what that meant or entailed. But as we slowly chipped away at the marble, whether it was through talking with co-workers and getting access to Build's alumni survey data or reaching out to organizations that specialized in certain aspects of an economic impact report like data collection, our project has slowly started to resemble something of a sculpture.
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Despite still having a long ways to go, in looking at this project as a whole, this economic impact study is an excellent way of not only quantifying the significance Build has had in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Detroit, it is also a benchmark for what the future of Build holds in terms of a more well defined road map to bigger impact. On a larger scale, however, it is important to note that Build is one of many accelerators, which include ProsperUS, TechTown, etc. Therefore, in taking this one step further, although we are creating a tool that will help Build Institute evaluate its impact, there is this sense that I am contributing to something greater than Build itself. It is essential for me to put into perspective that despite Build having graduated 750 entrepreneurs, there are still thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs in Detroit that need to be connected to resources that Build has yet to have the carrying capacity for.

Corktown is the oldest neighborhood in Detroit, but like much of the city, it is struggling to transition to the 21st century due to a decades-old lack of foresight in planning. As the Motor City grew, it put motors first; developers built low-rise housing and single-family residences further and further from the city center, and built wide, straight roads to connect them to jobs in the midtown and downtown areas of the city. Now this model of development is harming Corktown, since the nine-lane state highway that runs through its center and functions as its main street is hostile to pedestrians and bicycles and discourages residents and visitors from spending time and creating a sense of community on the street. Additionally, Roosevelt Park sits mostly vacant in front of Michigan Central Station, the now-abandoned train station that hosted thousands of passengers a day before its closure in 1988.
 
This summer, I’m working at the Corktown Economic Development Corporation, which is a client of Human Scale Studio, a “strategic consultancy that helps business, philanthropy, and civic institutions shape the future of the urban world.” It would be accurate to say that our goal this summer is to help improve Corktown, but that is an overly simplistic description. What we are specifically trying to do is develop a PlacePlan of Corktown by analyzing its current assets and areas for growth, in order to help community stakeholders and the city government of Detroit a) transition Michigan Avenue into a complete street and b) activate Roosevelt Park.
 
Though there won’t be a single point of time in which Michigan Ave. is “complete” and Roosevelt Pak is “activated,” these goals basically mean that…
 
a) Michigan Ave. is made narrower through sidewalk extensions, improved/expanded bike lanes, and other means. People of all abilities and ages are comfortable being on the street, shopping, dining, and interacting, and the impact of vehicles in this area is reduced.

b) Roosevelt Park is utilized as a space for recreational activity, public programming, and other community interaction. Ideally, Michigan Central Station is repurposed, possibly even as a transit center.    
 
The specific implementation of these plans for creating a complete street and activating the park aren’t something that planners should just sit down and draw up. If this were the case, we would not be here; the city could decide what to do, and when the funds were in place it could take action. Developing this historic and valuable neighborhood demands a plan based on the the interests of its constituency, considering historical legacy while also looking to sustainable design principles that will provide for healthy use and growth in the coming decades and beyond. Creating this PlacePlan is a large project, and we’re by no means taking it on alone. It involves creating maps of the region to examine current property use, surveying in person, gathering community input, researching legacies of the region, and making informed recommendations determined from a consensus of opinions.
 
For us to enter Detroit, and specifically the Corktown neighborhood, as outsiders and try to take action and change the landscape of the neighborhood based on our own ideas of good and bad design would be wrong. Some residents have lived in Corktown for decades and decades, and their voices deserve to be heard. The people of the neighborhood we are working for come first. Our goal is to help them feel heard and to enable those who will be making important decisions about the future of their community to hear them too.   

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ps. I would be remiss if I didn’t add a note about my thoughts on the efficacy of our work. I get the feeling that with many (if not most) Duke Engage programs it takes so long to get acclimated and come to understand your role within the host community that it’s tough to make real change in just eight weeks. (As a side note, I feel like everyone in Detroit is in the process of producing real, tangible results that will be used at the end of the summer by their community partners.) But even if this weren’t the case, there will be plenty of opportunities to take knowledge from Duke Engage and apply it at home. For example, I’ve already learned a lot about urban planning and placemaking in my first few weeks in Detroit, and I could see myself continuing to pursue this by working in Durham on better street design and other urban design principles that put people first. Having an impactful summer is important, but it’s just as important to soak up as much as possible in order to be able to do your best work in the future.   ​

“I've always believed that talent is distributed equally across our country, but what frustrates me is that opportunity hasn't been as evenly distributed. That has been the case in many cities, but it has been particularly true here in Detroit, especially for our young men and women of color.” Said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan in an interview with CNN early this month. Clearly, the youth is the future of Detroit. As long as Detroit wants to make the “turnaround”, it needs to help solve youth problem in Detroit, especially the youth unemployment problem.
 
Why is it so urgent to solve the youth unemployment problem? The data collected by Detroit Food Academy show that 35.9% of young Detroiters are neither working nor in school, the highest rate in the country; 1 in 6 ages 16-24 are disconnected from school and work. Government cannot solve youth unemployment by its self, and that’s where Detroit Food Academy stepped in the situation. Detroit Food Academy offers students who are interested in food business a chance to turn their ideas into reality. Although some programs offer kitchen knowledge, business management training for high graduates, Detroit Food Academy tries to not only provide work experience, education, and youth development, but also engage students while they are still in school.  DFA is famous for its academy programs which provide basic knife skills, nutrition fundamentals, smart grocery shopping, meal budgeting, culinary arts and also entrepreneurship training and business skills.
 
The session I work with is Small Batch which is the for-profit session under the whole non-profit Detroit Food Academy. It owns Mitten Bites, all-natural snack bars packed with nutrition and flavor, which is created by some students in After School Program. It took them 5 years to make Mitten Bites as a shining youth-driven product in local markets. Mitten Bites use profits they make to hire more student employees. As the business expand, they can hire more students, therefore helping more youth get employed.
 
Duke team is lucky to join Small Batch as Mitten Bites just starts shining in Detroit. My partner Henry and I help Small Batch to be well-organized from inventory system to social media impact as preparation to be a bigger company. Since Mitten Bites just shos up in local groceries such as Whole Food and Eastern Market, it does not attract as much attention as it deserves. From that, we work on Facebook Page and Instagram to increase attentions among Detroiters. Moreover, we find out that, as demand goes up, we need not only more systematic way to track each ingredients such as honey, dark chocolate chips and coconut, but also each bar produced and case tracking number. Beyond that, we conducted interviews for directors and students in Small Batch to help people know more about Mitten Bites. We are here to help Mitten Bites assert more impact on the local community and let people understand why it is so important for us to persist.
 
Like Jeanette Pierce said “Detroit is big enough to matter in the world and small enough for you to matter in it.” Even though I am such a small pin in the map of Detroit Food Academy, I still believe I can matter in the big picture. 

"Fishes swim, birds fly, startups die."

Or at least that’s what Vijay Anand,  self-proclaimed “Startup Guy,”  thinks when it comes to startups and entrepreneurship. Although a somewhat pessimistic view of startup culture, this is (sadly?) the view that some hold about the field.

Personally, I think entreprenuership is more of a mindset rather than an actual action. Think about it. When faced with a problem, the conventional (and usually smarter) approach is to look at what people with the same problem have previously done and learn from what worked (or didn’t) for them. What’s been proven is the way to go. It’s the way to ensure you won’t mess up (or at least decrease the possibility). Although this is the safer approach, it can be a monotonous and limiting one.

​That’s where entreprenuership comes in —approaching old problems in new ways. 

Entreprenuership alone isn’t generally viewed in a negative light. The buzzword “startups” may receive some negative press (if anything) simply because some view them as turbulent, profit-driven companies which will spring up and fall into oblivion at the snap of a finger. But when it comes to social entreprenuership, the public perception of the term is far from negative (although it may be because those absent from the startup scene don’t know the difference). Two key words bring in the “social” aspect of social entreprenuership —invent and improve. In my opinion, a company can be said to use social entreprenuership when and if they use entreprenuership to help better society in the long run —helping redevelop, repurpose, or reinvent. What makes social entreprenuership important is the “giving back”mentality that underlies it. Coming to Detroit and working with a company (Corktown Economic Development Corporation) which aims to help the most historic part of the city in its redevelopment and districting efforts has given me hands-on experience as to what exactly social entreprenuership is. Its an interesting mix of startup culture with an emphasis on bettering the community.

Despite the somewhat pessimistic views of general startup culture that may persist, in rising hubs of innovation (like the Motor City and Durham itself), the emphasis on the social part of social entrepreneurship can be what makes the ultimate difference in the perception of startups in the community. Rather than being seen as unstable companies that can come and go in the blink of an eye, startups with a more social approach to entreprenuership will be seen in a more positive light by community members and the world as a whole and thus garner more support in the public eye (which can lead to other benefits like a potential general increase in investment trends).

And it’s because of this that, unlike what Vinay Anand declared, startups don’t have to die. Social entreprenuership can make the ultimate difference in what makes a startup thrive.

Social entrepreneurship was a foreign term to me this time last year. I had just finished a year in South American volunteering in different areas. I had an opportunity to see parts of the world where others struggle on a regular basis to make ends meet. I realized that coming from a place of privilege, I had a rare chance to make a significant impact. While this would not be immediate, I knew a foundation could be set for later on.

Teaching English gave me an opportunity to meet a variety of people, and there were many who stood out as particularly ambitious beyond just in their learning of the language. They genuinely wanted to make something happen in their communities. I specifically remember a student named Diomar who, one day, laid out his plan for his hometown. Situated on the beach, he wanted to start a series of hostels promoting environmental conservation. That really stuck with me. 

When I came back home, while I hadn’t learned the formal term for it, I knew what I wanted to focus on. I loved the idea of owning a problem and making something happen out of it. Innovation is the key to change, and I think that lies at the core of what social entrepreneurship means to me. It is acting on a vision.  

As we face challenges in the world we live in, I believe innovation will be essential. Leaders like Diomar need to act on their creative ideas, reflecting new approaches and potential solutions to issues at hand. I am thankful to be in a position to learn more about this while in Detroit, a city that seems to thriving with young entrepreneurs. Working at Detroit Food Academy had provided me a first-hand look into social entrepreneurship. I have been working with Small Batch, a for profit branch of DFA generating a variety of food products. I have been involved in Mitten Bites in particular- a no-bake snack bar. The youth unemployment rate in Detroit has been a pressing issue. DFA tries to tackle this by providing young people opportunities to work and learn about the culinary industry. I think this is the best of both worlds, as it aims to become a self-sufficient enterprise benefiting the city in more ways than supplying a product.
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I feel like I have found something I am really passionate about. I wake up every day excited to see what can be done to help them grow. I realize there is only so much I can do, but I am ready to fully commit to becoming more and more of a help as I learn about something I deeply value.