When I told my friends back home that I was going to Detroit for the summer to work in the field of social entrepreneurship, I was not met with curiosity about my project or excitement about my opportunity. Rather, they stared blankly at me and questioned my decision to go to Detroit. My friends are not to blame for this. Detroit is viewed in a negative light by a majority of the country due to its media portrayal as a crime-ridden, impoverished city. I myself am guilty of having such preconceptions. Upon finally arriving in Detroit, however, it became clear that most people have a falsely exaggerated view of the city’s condition. I was surprised to find that Detroit is rooted deeply in culture and has a bustling downtown area. Most remarkably, despite the hard times that Detroit has been through, the people are unequivocally proud of being residents and are passionate about the work they do in the city. The pride is evident in the beautiful murals spread across the city, the extensive sports culture, and people’s generally positive attitudes. At every establishment I’ve been to (restaurants, stores, etc.), I’ve been greeted with genuine kindness, something that cannot be said about many other places in the country. As we walked through Eastern Market, experienced Detroit SOUP, and witnessed the Heidelberg Project, everyone (the vendors, the entrepreneurs, and the artists) displayed a strong passion for their work.
This is not to say that Detroit is devoid of the negative aspects that the general public refers to. The effects of the economic downturn are evident in many parts of the city, mostly by the rundown buildings and abandoned houses dispersed throughout Downtown and Midtown. The media is therefore not completely unfounded in their assertions. However, the picture that it paints is definitely exaggerated, as the city has undergone revitalization, a process that I hope to be a part of this summer.
I hope my work with NextEnergy this summer will in some way contribute to helping Detroit “rise from the ashes.” Today, energy efficiency can help solve problems for many cities, as sustainable energy will be necessary in the years to come as we deal with climate change and conservation efforts. In the future, clean energy will hopefully be mainstream, but that can only happen if we take initiative now. By developing a report that establishes target cities in Michigan that would benefit from clean energy initiatives, I hope my work can impact both Detroit and the surrounding communities by both increasing awareness about clean energy and beginning to make these changes in surrounding communities. At the very least, I hope I can learn a lot about this area of work and eventually be able to apply it to make change in the future. I can’t wait to see what this summer has in store for me.
This is not to say that Detroit is devoid of the negative aspects that the general public refers to. The effects of the economic downturn are evident in many parts of the city, mostly by the rundown buildings and abandoned houses dispersed throughout Downtown and Midtown. The media is therefore not completely unfounded in their assertions. However, the picture that it paints is definitely exaggerated, as the city has undergone revitalization, a process that I hope to be a part of this summer.
I hope my work with NextEnergy this summer will in some way contribute to helping Detroit “rise from the ashes.” Today, energy efficiency can help solve problems for many cities, as sustainable energy will be necessary in the years to come as we deal with climate change and conservation efforts. In the future, clean energy will hopefully be mainstream, but that can only happen if we take initiative now. By developing a report that establishes target cities in Michigan that would benefit from clean energy initiatives, I hope my work can impact both Detroit and the surrounding communities by both increasing awareness about clean energy and beginning to make these changes in surrounding communities. At the very least, I hope I can learn a lot about this area of work and eventually be able to apply it to make change in the future. I can’t wait to see what this summer has in store for me.