Comments on: Forty Miles from Eight Mile: University of Michigan Engaged with Detroit

By: Meg Mulhall

Meg Mulhall — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:55:15 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Ann. I think that’s a great point that I was trying to get at with this post. Detroit may provide a great platform for students of urban planning to observe and test things they’ve heard in the classroom, but programs like Semester in Detroit and the Detroit Partnership are engaging students more intimately with their Detroit neighbors. Through weekly volunteer engagement or a semester interning with a local organization, I think students are building deeper relationships that may bring them back to the community once they graduate from UM. Also, these programs engage students from all backgrounds and academic interests so they can bring a unique perspective to any and all issues that may be plaguing Detroit, not just planning issues at their most basic level.

By: Ann Bee

Ann Bee — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 21:51:06 +0000

It’s wonderful to read how others value engagement with Detroit, but I wonder if instead of thinking of a living, breathing city of individuals as a “lab,” we could think of the city as a neighbor? Many service-learning avenues at University of Michigan, including The Detroit Partnership, Semester in Detroit and organizations such as the Ginsberg Center, engage students with Detroit with the understanding that the University must enter and exit the city as respectfully as grandchildren would enter and exit their grandmother’s living room. Detroit is much more than a space to test theories and teach students, it is a city of people with whom we need to build relationships. The university can work alongside Detroiters to understand the challenges facing Southeastern Michigan and the Rust Belt, and to co-develop community-based solutions.