Will the next Detroit mayor support the city’s 50-year plan?

by Khalil AlHajal|mlive

DETROIT, MI — Detroit Works, a group of urban planners and outreach workers formed by Mayor Dave Bing, released a massive long-term plan for Detroit this week.

The plan maps out Detroit’s future with a methodical, 50-year, overhauled vision of the city’s neighborhoods, economy, city systems, land use and assets.

But what happens when the mayor who spurred the effort leaves office? Will it be back to the drawing board under a different vision for dealing with the city’s shrunken, ailing population and dilapidated infrastructure?

The 347-page document full of maps and lists of statistics, strategies, and calls to action has garnered millions in financial support from Detroit nonprofits hoping to keep the plan alive no matter who leads the city in the future.

“Who knows who will be mayor 10 years from now,” said Rip Rapson president of Kresge Foundation, which pledged $150 million to the plan’s implementationover the next five years. “I think we’re creating the scaffolding that will make that important, but not determinative.”

Dan Pitera, executive director of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, said there have been past plans for the city that ultimately fell apart, and that the group has a lot of work ahead to keep this one alive.

“We want to make sure that doesn’t not happen now,” he said. “The way to have that happen is by working and connecting to things that are already happening.”

He said an organization of block clubs, businesses, nonprofits and other entities is being formed to oversee implementation.

But Bing has refused to say whether or not he intends to run for re-election. And the next mayor will surely play a role in how aggressively the Detroit Future City plan is pursued.

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napolean, one of several high-profile names likely run for mayor offered a statement of measured support for the plan:

“The Detroit Future City framework (via Detroit Works) is a very detailed and comprehensive plan. A lot to digest at a glance. However, it is clear that the city of Detroit can no longer afford to operate as though it still maintains a population of over 2 Million residents. If this plan is, indeed, good for Detroit, that conclusion should be determined through dialogue and input from Detroiters who are the impacted parties.”