This summer I am working for a company called Detroit Future City. DFC is essentially a group of people who have come up with a series of long term goals for Detroit and are no beginning to work toward these goals by partnering with different groups across the city to accomplish projects that have had, and continue to have a positive impact on the city. Although DFC is involved in a great number of projects, the sector that I’m currently involved in is land development.
Initially, I had a hard time understanding what I was going to do during the summer. I felt like I wasn’t able to get a compact, tangible definition of my work. However, after doing some research and communicating with my supervisor, I feel like I have a meaningful, solid idea of what my goals and deliverables are.
Initially, I had a hard time understanding what I was going to do during the summer. I felt like I wasn’t able to get a compact, tangible definition of my work. However, after doing some research and communicating with my supervisor, I feel like I have a meaningful, solid idea of what my goals and deliverables are.
The beginning of a community in Woodbridge, a prominent Detroit neighborhood.
A crucial aspect that any great city has is great neighborhoods. The neighborhoods that surround the bustling, urban centers are what provide a sustainable foundation to a city. Neighborhoods are what help build strong communities of support for people growing up near big cities. My job involves helping make Detroit’s neighborhoods beautiful.
For anything to succeed, it is vital that the people who get the end result feel a sense of ownership in their product. That is why I am not going out and mowing lawns myself. The work I do is to provide people in the Detroit community with a stream-lined process for what they can do to improve the vacant lots or open space that they have in their neighborhoods. These vacant lots can often be an eyesore and sometimes even dangerous. The community members realize this as well, but it is difficult to know where to start because landscaping can often times be a difficult process. This is where Detroit Future City is helping out by providing several incredibly beneficial resources to the communities, starting with the Field Guide.
For anything to succeed, it is vital that the people who get the end result feel a sense of ownership in their product. That is why I am not going out and mowing lawns myself. The work I do is to provide people in the Detroit community with a stream-lined process for what they can do to improve the vacant lots or open space that they have in their neighborhoods. These vacant lots can often be an eyesore and sometimes even dangerous. The community members realize this as well, but it is difficult to know where to start because landscaping can often times be a difficult process. This is where Detroit Future City is helping out by providing several incredibly beneficial resources to the communities, starting with the Field Guide.
Auditing a local neighborhood for ensuring a safe walk to school.
The Field Guide is a collection of designs that people can use when they are building their lots. These designs are organized based on characteristics such as price, difficulty, and ease of maintenance. The guide also provides a list of professional that people can call should they get stuck on a project in addition to a list of all the permits that people would have to file for should they need to. My job currently revolves around compiling all of those permits. In order to accomplish this task, I have to contact city officials and sometimes take a trip to their offices to gain a copy of the permit. I’ve enjoyed this line of work so far because it involves communication with a lot of people who know a great deal about the city. I am very excited to continue my work with this project and then return so I can see the positive changes that Detroit Future City has implemented.
A modern sculpture in one of the community gardens.
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