Urban Edge

Prior to beginning the project, the lots we worked with had a lot of landfill items that were hard to remove with standard equipment. The first step was the clear those lots out and determine what type of soil we would have work with on the lot. After clearing the lots, we learned that the…

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The American Riad

North End Woodward Community Organization is re-building a corner through art & culture, in a multi-year project of skill-shares and public art, to create a Moroccan-style Riad (a central, shared courtyard, filled with art and gardens). So far, in addition to Detroit, this has involved related activities in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Marrakesh (Morocco), and…

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The Alley Project

The Alley Project (TAP) is a network of places and programs along the alley developed to facilitate creative processes, positive youth-adult partnerships, and community building. TAP includes a transformed vacant corner lot into a community-designed park for informal gatherings, recreation and formal programming.  More about this project >

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Outdoor Theatre

Carrie Morris Arts Production (CMAP) creates and supports performance art and artistic exploration in a way that is inclusive, intimate, and community-centered. Since 2012, they’ve provided opportunities for artists who are typically underrepresented in the arts community and support artists who may not have access to other modes of funding. They strive to include residents…

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Manistique Treehouse

The Community Treehouse Center will be an environmentally-friendly community education center and event space and will host year-round therapeutic and educational programming to improve the physical and mental well-being of community members, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities who are socially isolated.  More about this project >

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Intersections Park

This pocket park at the corner of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks Boulevards was transformed through the team effort of North Corktown community members and students at Burton International School. All of the pieces in the park were chosen to honor the contribution of King and Parks to the civil rights movement and build…

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Holland Maze Literacy Park

NW Goldberg Cares aims to improve upon the lives of residents in the predominantly African-American community by incubating neighborhood businesses, building a strong community, and ensuring a family-friendly neighborhood. Formerly known as ORIGINAL CREATIVITY, the non-profit seeks to create a sense of fellowship, and recognizes that a community is more than a group of people…

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Hamilton Rainscape Learning Lab

The Hamilton Rainscape emerged from community plans to address blight and stormwater issues. The location and elements of the design were selected through a community engagement process that brought together residents and the designers throughout the development of the project. Residents, ECN staff, and InSite Design Studio came together to create a beautiful open space…

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Friendly Fence

The Friendly Fence implementation on Stahelin was a part of a larger resident-led vision for the street. Stahelin Ave. had a very active community of engagement surrounding the street to help maintain vacant homes, and advocate for the demolition of dangerous properties. The Friendly Fence lot treatment was selected because this specific lot was in…

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Field Temple Forest Patch

Field Temple is working in their community to create a meditation space that cultivates beauty, refuge, and tranquility and is accessible to all who walk in the neighborhood. They practice Buddhist philosophy and currently hold meditations, community gatherings, and storytelling at the lot. Field Temple plans to use their grant to install the Forest Patcher…

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