Meeting Round-Ups

Survey Results from the March 17, Senior Summit Presentation

click here for results of the Senior Summit presentation

Survey Results from the March 10, 2011 Boys & Girls – Bloomer Presentation

click here for results of the Boys & Girls – Bloomer presentation

Survey Results from the March 1, 2011 Brenda Scott Academy for Theater ArtsPresentation

click here for results of the Brenda Scott Academy for Theater Arts presentation

Survey Results from the February 28, 2011 Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan Presentation

click here for results of the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan presentation

Survey Results from the February 23, 2011 Focus: HOPE Presentation

click here for results of the Focus: HOPE presentation

Survey Results from the February 16, 2011 NFL/YET – Boys & Girls Club – Dick & Sandy Dauch Campus Presentation

click here for results of the NFL/YET – Boys & Girls Club – Dick & Sandy Dauch Campus presentation

Survey Results from the February 15, 2011 Greater Grace Temple Presentation

click here for results of the Greater Grace Temple presentation

Survey Results from the February 14, 2011 Leland Baptist Church Presentation

click here for results of the Leland Baptist Church presentation

Survey Results from the February 5, 2011 American Serbian Hall Presentation

click here for results of the American Serbian Hall presentation

Survey Results from the January 31, 2011 IBEW Hall Presentation

click here for results of the IBEW Hall presentation

Survey Results from the January 29, 2011 Odd Fellow Presentation

click here for results of the Odd Fellows Hall presentation

Survey Results from the January 27, 2011 University Detroit Mercy Presentation

click here for results of the University Detroit Mercy presentation

September 2010 Forum Round-Up

“Thank you for initiating this conversation, it’s so important. We are here to do what we can to help our city and community.” - Comments from Detroit Works Project Forums

For those who wondered if people would come…they came. To the tune of 4,500 in just five meetings. In September 2010, the Detroit Works Project kicked off with five community forums around the city, to engage Detroiters in a conversation about what our future could be. Like democracy itself, the meetings were at times inspirational, at times challenging, and at times thought provoking. The one thing they all had in common is that people cared. They cared about their neighbors, their city, and about what comes next.

“When citizens are a part of the process it gives them the satisfaction of being a part of the big picture. Continue to allow us to be involved, let us know what we can do to help.” - Comments from Detroit Works Project Forums

Below is a snap-shot of what we heard. People had thoughts on everything from services to land use to jobs to green practices, and much, much more. And, there really was no single overwhelming view beyond our need to get better and our opportunity to be great again.

Reaching Out – Here are some stats on how we gathered people, and how many we heard from in just a few short weeks:

• Engaged 30 organizations in every corner of the city to help us get the word out on the forums
• 100 volunteers passed out flyers, stuffed envelopes and told their friends about the meetings
• A total of 4,500 people attended five community forums
• 1,451 comment cards were filled out
• 1,916 verbal comments were captured/recorded on-the-spot

So what did we hear?

Many of you wanted to talk about the city….today, with most of those comments centered on city services. We’ve already begun reaching out individually to people on specific issues that were raised and will continue to do so:

If you have a service request, please contact the City of Detroit’s 311 call center.

• 22% of all comments were about city services, with 21.5% of those referencing police and fire (many specific to response times)
• 9% of all comments referenced vacant land or vacant property, with about 1/3 of those noting issues of blight and its negative impact on neighborhoods; people were also interested in the process of land acquisition

People also wanted to talk about the future and had some great ideas for moving the city forward:

• There were many comments on transportation with 42% of those expressing a desire for light rail and 31% making suggestions around improvements for bicycles
• Of course land, particularly vacant land, as a resource to be used in creative economic impact and sustainability ways was a big topic – 50% of sustainability comments related to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal technology), and 40% mentioned some form of urban agriculture
• 33% of future housing suggestions connected empty and abandoned homes in the city with shelter for the homeless
• 30% of future city service suggestions recommended working with existing non-profits, private entities, block clubs and churches
• Some people were interested in attracting large-scale commercial development, while others advocated for keeping economic development local and focused on small-scale businesses

Getting Engaged

You, citizens, are a critical part of the process and it’s only natural that you had some questions about that process. Below are some of the things we heard:

You want to learn more about the Advisory Task Force.

You’re looking for smaller meetings in your neighborhoods and with established community groups based on the issues you care about most: neighborhoods, the economy, transportation, open space and public services.

Most importantly, we want you to keep participating, keep sending us email, keep giving us your ideas. We are taking all that we learned from you at the community forums and integrating your thoughts into the next round of meetings. Those sessions, shaped by your feedback will include a series of over 40 small-sized meetings, beginning in late November 2010 and running through February 2011. Learn how you can get involved.

We encourage you to stay engaged as we move through the next phase of the important, exciting and much –needed work. We cannot accomplish this work without you; we look forward to your continued involvement.