In a 1919 brochure for the Rosedale Park development highlighted the clean air “out of the smoke zone” and the great opportunity of a growing region. At this point, Detroit was still relatively small by today’s city boundary definition, but the comparison to the Boston regional development and cooperation – specifically on public rapid transit – was another selling point for Rosedale Park (future rapid transit that was never constructed).
“The maps reveal a striking contrast and furnish an example of what must take place around Detroit with the coming of better transportation and a comprehensive plan of city development. Other cities would show a proportionate contract with Detroit, but Boston was selected because of having many of the same features in common with this city.”
And:
“The people of Boston solved their problem because it had to be solved. It will be done in Detroit for the same reason.”
I worked with the Detroit Food Policy Council (DFPC) to produce their latest Detroit Food Metrics report. This map in particular is helpful to understand resilience in Detroit communities and adaptation in the food system.
“Detroit’s hunger crisis is far from over. Pandemic benefits reduced the burden significantly, but now many families and elderly residents are falling back into regular food insecurity as benefits end. In some communities mutual aid has filled the gaps.”
for NHL sports bars near Little Caesar’s Pizzarena with 35 bars within 1 mile (Detroit Free Press)
71%
of unhoused households experienced “first time homelessness” according to new report led by Homeless Action Network Detroit (HAND) (Bridge Detroit)
13%
of all Arabic speakers live in Metro Detroit (Axios)
3.5
miles of riverwalk expansion that opened this month on the, hopefully soon to be renamed, “Uniroyal Promenade” (a corporate polluter who couldn’t clean up their mess shouldn’t get a riverfront promenade named after them)
Alex Hill has 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations on campaigns that impact policies and communities. He launched the Detroit Food Map initiative in 2011 and founded DETROITography in 2013. His first book, Detroit in 50 Maps, was published in 2021. As a data nerd and anthropologist, he loves sifting through spreadsheets and sitting down with people to tell meaningful stories. By combining human experiences with data and analytics, he’s able to evaluate and elevate the strategic impact for all types of organizations through mapping, infographics, and campaigns. His personal research is focused on food access, racial justice, data literacy, and health equity.
The obvious answer is yes, Detroit neighborhoods have been mapped many, many times by many different people, groups, and entities. Some Detroit neighborhoods are best understood as historic districts, others are born of strong neighborhood associations (for better, for worse), some are simply terms given to a geographic area, and others are strictly defined by non-profits and investing organizations.
“I vote that the people who live there get to decide and history must be referenced.”
Historic neighborhood areas have had staying power. Most notably Corktown, although it has gone through significant changes over the years, remains the oldest neighborhood, oldest neighborhood name in continuous use in Detroit. One of the most influential programs that defined much of the city’s neighborhood was the United Community Services, what became the United Way, “subcommunities” that were drawn after each Census as a way to subdivide and track change over time in the city. Through the 1960s and 1970s those defined areas were referred to as Detroit’s neighborhoods, but with population loss many of those neighborhood names were forgotten or at least much less recognizable. The former subcommunitites were adopted as Detroit’s official master plan neighborhoods.
There is a genealogy to Detroit’s neighborhood maps and naming choices. Often times, the line drawing and naming have not involved Detroiters let alone the very people who reside in a geographic area because naming and claiming space can be very political or have broader economic or real estate aims that are not concerned with resident perspectives. That is the very reason that we launched Detroit-Neighborhoods.com
Countless “paper neighborhoods” have proliferated in Detroit. I questioned all of the “neighborhood” map products available in 2013 and others had similar concerns about places called “The Eye” or “Fishkorn” and the, at the time, “Corktown Shores.” Presently, the neighborhood name that is most confusing is “Buffalo” near the recently named Banglatown neighborhood at the Hamtramck border, that was quietly renamed “Buffalo-Charles” for the street intersection. Yet, no residents of the area have ever use or have heard of the name. Even the Planning Department’s outreach for the Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF) Banglatown framework never listed either Buffalo or Buffalo-Charles. Since the City’s Department of Neighborhoods (DON) has defined the name, it has entered the media discourse – including a handful of recent mentions in 2023.
Neighborhood naming by City government has larger implications too. All of the incorrect names or made up boundaries that the City DON has adopted get added to the open data portal, which is then downloaded – not by Google – but by a group called Precisely, formerly Maponics, that has made its business to map every neighborhood in the world. Precisely and Maponics were the preferred data providers for real estate companies like Realtor.com, Zillow, etc. that wanted to optimize searching for a new home, but were quickly contracted by any new digital company offering a map and search function. The neighborhood names many people were mad about on Google Maps came from Precisely/Maponics not Google itself.
Detroit neighborhoods can be mapped, but I’d like to see every resident have the opportunity to provide input.
Here are the Michigan legislative districts mapped by Will Ferguson that the U.S. District Court ruled will be allowed to go to trial on grounds that their drawing violates the Voting Rights Act. If the lawsuit succeeds it is likely that much of Southeast Michigan will again be redrawn to be more compliant.
Malachi Barrett of Bridge Detroit reports that the “Delray Phytoforest Pilot” project is underway. The concept came out of the city’s 2021 neighborhood framework plan. City Council approved the transfer of 64 Detroit Land Bank (DLBA) properties for the project where 4,000 trees and shrubs will be planted to act as a vegetative buffer in the very polluted area. Based on our 2021 analysis of potential sites for tree buffers, Delray had very few DLBA properties available to effectively mitigate pollution from expressway or industrial sites. The greatest benefit may be leveraging existing city owned properties with increased tree plantings.
We’re a hosting partner for the City of Detroit GO DATA Commission’s new annual data art competition and exhibit. The inaugural theme is “Detroit data storytelling.”
What: Detroit data art exhibit
When: Submissions due by November 8, exhibit will happen during Detroit GIS Day November 15th.
The City of Detroit’s Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion has a series of data points and maps that set the baseline for their work on increasing access to high speed internet across the city. They’ve calculated Council District and Current “Neighborhood” rates using an interesting methodology based on occupied housing units per census tract.
Many Detroiters have stories of trying to work with the Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) to acquire land, move an agricultural project forward, or just secure the side lots near their home. Typically I have heard these stories involve a denial with not clear reason given. I stumbled across this map that seems to be semi-regularly updated with “project areas” that may be the cause of many negative interactions with the DLBA.
The DLBA website outlines the definitions for these areas and link to the longer policy document:
Inclusive Housing Opportunity Areas: where home sales have averaged $100/square foot, or more, over the last year. These are areas where housing inclusivity is, or is likely to become, a pronounced challenge.
Jobs and Amenity Development Areas: where publicly owned vacant lots account for a third or more of all parcels. These may create opportunity for the development of large-scale public or private Revitalization projects.
Project Coordination Areas: where City planning, housing, infrastructure, economic development, or recreation agencies have formally requested that the DLBA coordinate sales in connection with planned or ongoing Revitalization projects that use DLBA properties.
Project Hold Areas: where City Revitalization Offices have agreements in place barring or restricting the sale of DLBA property in that geographic area.
Same map below for 2020. In 2023, there have been expansions mostly on the Westside for inclusive housing, job and amenity development, and project holds.
I’ve added the term “access” to the City of Detroit’s listing of “tech hubs” since that seems to be a term with a wide and varied definition. In this case the City is talking about:
[…] free wifi, devices, and basic digital literacy training
The sites range from support from major telecom companies like Comcast and ATT to the Connect313 efforts. Previous researchers have also included a broader number of access points with free wifi like McDonalds and municipal buildings. The City of Detroit Office of Digital Inclusion notes that 42.6% of households lack high speed internet access up from 40% in 2013.
I contributed some mapping support to the research conducted by DC Palmer and the UM Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being on home mortgage data in Detroit.
“According to Anthony Smith, the City of Detroit DPA program manager, as of May 11, there were 2 applications successfully originated (closed), 11 vetted for approval, and 35 applications in process. By June 20, Dina Harris, CEO of National Faith Homebuyers – the contract organization managing the program for the city – reported that 38 home loans were originated (closed), 53 were approved pending closing, and 49 were in the application process. With roughly $5 million available for DPA assistance, there are enough funds for at least 200 successful DPA applications available on a first come first serve basis. City officials and contractors have hinted that there is an opportunity to re-seed the fund with additional dollars if the program is successful. If these trends hold true, current City of Detroit DPA funding will be exhausted before the fall of 2023.”
The short answer is yes, it is time to reassess City Council District boundaries.
The City Charter calls for updated Districts 120 days before the next City primary election. The release of Census 2020 data files gave the City a pass up until now. The 2020 decennial census data was released to State governments for redistricting efforts in August 2021, but the City election in 2021 was already well under way. The next City election for Mayor and City Council seats will be in 2025.
For the 2012 City Charter, the City Planning Commission did the work of creating and proposing Council Districts which would then be approved by the 3-member Detroit Election Commission (City Council President Sheffield, City Clerk Winfrey, Corporation Counsel Mallett). The City has until around February 2025 to finish a Council redistricting process before the April 2025 City primary election (prior to the general election in November 2025).
Sec. 3-108. Geographical Basis for Electing Council Members.
There shall be seven (7) non at-large districts and one (1) at-large district established in the City and one (1) member shall be elected from each non at-large district and two (2) members shall be elected from the at-large district. New district boundaries created within one hundred twenty (120) days of a City Primary Election shall become effective after the General Election.
City Council shall establish district wards that are as nearly of equal population as practicable, contiguous, compact and in accordance with any other criteria permitted by law. District wards shall be apportioned in subsequent years as required by, and in accordance with, the Home Rule City Act, MCL 117.27a, and other applicable law.
COMMENTARY: According to the Home Rule City Act, districts must be drawn based on a specific set of criteria which includes, equal population, compactness and contiguous boundaries. MCL 117.27a(5). Additional language has been inserted to allow for consideration and use of factors not necessarily prohibited by law (e.g. keeping intact precinct boundaries).
Lastly, pursuant to the Home Rule City Act, district boundaries are required to be redrawn after every decennial census. MCL 117.27a(4). This section includes this legal requirement.
Precinct Changes
Unfortunately, the City Clerk’s office is not known for keeping great records or administering elections well. There were again surprises with Voting Precinct changes the day of the election – a regular occurrence. Before the 2022 Midterm, a large number of precincts were merged, yet I can find no record or vote by the Detroit Election Commission to approve those changes. It’s not the biggest reason, but concerning to have so many precincts change since 2020 causing 5 precincts to cross Council District boundaries (highlighted in orange).
Since 2020, 52 precincts were merged with nearby precincts. Precincts 17, 28, 37, 48, 54, 57, 67, 76, 87, 96, 99, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 117, 141, 142, 149, 152, 154, 163, 170, 179, 181, 187, 196, 206, 235, 237, 270, 322, 388, 391, 412, 451, 454, 455, 456, 459, 465, 467, 469, 476, 478, 487, 492, 494, and 499 were all removed in 2022. Big thanks to Will Ferguson for remapping the precinct changes that, as far as I can tell, were only shared out as an unuseable PDF map (04/05/22 2:10PM). Give the people machine-readable, open data!
What may be the most important change is that Detroit has only continued to lose population. When the Council Districts were formed in 2012, they were each roughly 100,000 people. Since then District 6 has gain 5,000 residents (+5%) along with gains in District 1 (+2,618), District 2 (+3,780), and District 7 (+858). District 5 (-4,689), District 4 (-3,024), and District 3 (-4,652) have all seen population losses making for a serious West versus East imbalance in city political representation.
Population is not evenly distributed in Detroit making it difficult to draw lines that balance the more dense pockets of the city.
Population density really shows the disparities in the revitalizing city where there is a Greater Downtown bubble, a ring of low density around Greater Downtown, and most Detroiters living in the Southwest, Northwest and Far East sides.
I’ve lamented the data issues with matching ZIP codes to Council Districts as well as using Census Tract level data that have new estimates every year with Council Districts because the reality is that Council Districts were drawn along voting Precinct boundaries not Census geographies. Demographics be damned the Tract don’t vote.
New City Council Districts
Detroit’s current population calls for equally distributed Districts of roughly 90,000 people to meet the criteria of being, “nearly of equal population as practicable, contiguous, compact.” This is my attempt to align with Precinct boundaries as well as the City’s current “neighborhoods” as a means to not split potentially cohesive groups of voters. There are roughly 5 “neighborhoods” that get split in this proposed redistricting, but choices were made based on population numbers. There are plenty of other ways to redraw the lines. I mostly wonder why we haven’t had that conversation yet as a city at large. What would you change?
We’re a hosting partner for the City of Detroit GO DATA Commission’s new annual data art competition and exhibit. The inaugural theme is “Detroit data storytelling.”
What: Detroit data art exhibit
When: Submissions due by September 18, exhibit will happen during digital inclusion week October 2-6.
Detroit Disability Power (DDP) audited 261 polling locations, 167 of which were in the City of Detroit, for four assessment criteria for accessibility:
An accessible parking area with a clear pathway into the building.
An accessible entrance.
A fully accessible voter assist terminal (VAT).
An accessible booth for casting paper ballots privately.
The resulting report is not promising and leaves a lot of room for improvement. Just 12% of the 167 polling locations in Detroit were found to be fully accessible.
Brownfields are properties that are “contaminated, blighted, functionally obsolete, or historic properties.” Regardless of their classification, all brownfields face economic barriers to reuse and redevelopment.
Through the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act, Brownfield Tax Increment Financing (TIF) allows applicable taxing jurisdictions to receive property taxes on the property at the current level and capture the incremental increase in tax revenue resulting from a redevelopment project. In Detroit, the majority of these sites are located in the Greater Downtown area – they may also be some of the larger sites where TIF is lucrative enough to offset a big project.
Luckily, the Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities are required by law to report Act 381 Brownfield TIF to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Reporting data is due no later than August 31, 2023 via the online portal. BRAs are not considered compliant until MEDC Brownfield Staff have reviewed and approved all reported data. The 2021 data was the latest available. I’m not sure how negative tax capture can be reported, but that’s what was included in the MEDC data tables for some brownfields.
The Detroit BRA is led by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), which I believe is the largest BRA in Michigan by project volume and amount of tax capture.
Detroit has always been notable for its strategic military vantage point. As a choke point on the Detroit River, the area was settled under a guise of colonization and control.
This map comes from reporting by Sarah Rahal about the abundance of signs placed by local and regional businesses all across the city. The City of Detroit seems to be implementing its “sign ordinance” against unapproved commercial signage along with enforcement.
In total, 16,000 signs have been removed in 18 months. The city’s Blight and Remediation Team has removed 615 signs from Shaw’s Plumbing business since February 2022.
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